Freshman Year
by silverwolf1213
Summary: The Naruto gang is heading out to high school!  But with family troubles brewing, friendships being tested, and relationships on the line, how is anyone supposed to worry about grades?
1. Heading Out to High School

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Shierra slammed her fist on the annoying alarm clock. The last thing she wanted was to get up at six in the morning. It was too early for anyone to do anything, in her opinion. She pulled the pillow over her head to continue her sleep.

A few moments later, knocking sounded from the other side of her door. "Hey! Lassie! Get up!"

"No!" Shierra yelled back at her uncle.

"Don't make me let Quaza in there," the man threatened.

"I'd like to see you try," Shierra mumbled.

She could hear her Uncle Sirius laughing from behind the door. Then she heard her door open, and light streamed in to flood her bedroom. Shierra heard the patter of feet on her carpet, and then she felt a body jump onto the bed and then on her.

As a reflex, Shierra pulled the covers over her entire body. But as always, the large black dog pulled the covers off and licked any visible skin he could find. Shierra giggled loudly as Quaza licked her neck and arms. She tried to move away, but the dog continued to lick her all over. Eventually, the licking led to Shierra tumbling off her bed.

"Ow!" Shierra yelled as she rubbed her head.

"That's what you get for not getting up when the alarm told you to," she heard her uncle's voice from her doorway.

Shierra pulled herself up to look over her bed at the door. She glared daggers at her uncle and his faithful canine companion, who had trotted over to sit by his master's side.

"Why do you insist on torturing me?" Shierra asked.

"Legally, it is my job," Sirius replied.

Shierra sighed as she stood up. She held her arms out in a surrendering gesture. "Fine, I'm up."

"You know, I would've thought that you would be a little more cooperative considering today is your first day of high school," Sirius said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The teenage girl stared at the man for a whole ten seconds before what he said registered in her mind. "Holy crap! Today is my first day of high school!"

As fast as a cheetah, she dashed out of her bedroom, past her uncle and his dog, and into the bathroom, where she found her brother.

"Zuko! Get out! I need to take a shower!" Shierra screamed.

The young man was brushing his teeth when his little sister came barging in. He glanced at her, and just to annoy her, he slowed the rhythm of brushing as he stared at her mockingly. She groaned loudly in frustration. After a whole five minutes of this, he laughed and spit the toothpaste out of his mouth.

"You know Squirt, maybe if you woke up on time, you wouldn't be freaking out right now," Zuko said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever! Now get out, it's my turn for the bathroom!" Shierra yelled as she pushed her brother out the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Zuko said as he walked out of the bathroom. He snickered as Shierra quickly slammed the door and turned the water on for the shower.

* * *

"Ah, the princess has decided to grace us with her presence," Sirius teased as Shierra hopped into the kitchen in her school uniform. Zuko was already dressed in his as well.

Girls wore white polo shirts with black skirts. Boys wore white polo shirts with black pants. The uniforms were painfully drab, but luckily, the principal of Konoha High, Lady Tsunade, had said in her letter over the summer concerning school uniforms that it was okay to "add articles of clothing that were appropriate for attending school," so long as the student actually wore the uniform.

Sirius placed a plate of pancakes in front of his nephew and niece. "So, you two excited?"

"Heck yeah! First day of high school!" Shierra exclaimed happily.

"You didn't seem that excited when it came to getting you out of bed," Zuko commented.

"Whatever, Zu-zu," Shierra scoffed.

"Right back at you, Squirt," Zuko added.

Sirius laughed at the two adolescents. He had raised the two kids for nearly ten years. Their parents, Sirius' brother and sister-in-law, had died in a fire. It was deemed an accident, but everyone knew that it was arson, especially since Hakota Jinsoku, Sirius' brother, was a powerful figure in the town.

He had owned a trading business, and Hakota had found out that his assistant, Gato, was working behind the company's back. Gato was illegally selling drugs, and when Hakota found out, he tried to cut Gato off from the business. Hakota had told Sirius of this, so Sirius knew it was probably Gato who had gotten one of his thugs to set fire to the Jinsoku household.

Hakota and his wife, Niena, had died trying to protect their children from the fire. When Sirius arrived on the scene, it was too late. The police had told him that Hakota and Niena had thrown seven-year-old Zuko and four-year-old Shierra out the window, where the firefighters were waiting. The firefighters had caught the children, but the parents had died without even being able to leave the second floor.

Shierra had been injured in her back, creating a very sensitive area in her lower back area. Zuko was forever marked with a scar shaped as a flame around his left eye. After a few years, Zuko grew used to the scar, and he learned to ignore anyone who tried to tease him about it.

Sirius had been a traveling agent for Hakota's company, but in his will, Hakota had left the entire company to Sirius. As soon as he got the chance, Sirius made sure to have Gato arrested. Even if the court didn't find him guilty for arson, he was sent to prison for a long time for drug dealing.

As Sirius stared at his godchildren, he remembered how far all three of them had come as a family in the past ten years. He smiled at them as he chomped down on his pancakes. "So Zuko, are you excited about being a senior?" Sirius asked.

"I guess," Zuko shrugged. "I'm glad it's almost over. But I have to deal with stupid college apps now."

Sirius smiled. "Don't worry, Bud. It'll be over before you know it."

"Yeah, just think, next year, you're going to college!" Shierra said.

"We get there when we get there," Zuko said. He glanced over at the clock. 7:30. "We should go soon. Classes start at eight."

"Okay," Shierra said as she placed her empty plate in the sink. "Let me just grab my jacket."

"You mean that gray one that you got over the summer that you were so excited to wear when school started?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, that one," Shierra said as she walked over to the stairs.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Zuko said.

Shierra's head peeked out from behind the wall. "What do you mean?"

"Unofficial school tradition," Zuko said without turning around to look at his sister.

Shierra narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She slowly walked back over to the kitchen table and then sat down in the spot where she had been sitting before. "Explain," she said.

Zuko sighed. "On the first day of school, the incoming freshmen have to be seen and not heard."

"What does that have to do with what I wear?" Shierra asked in confusion as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"The tradition includes that the freshmen leave their school uniforms as is," Zuko said. "Any first-year student who adds flair to their uniform is signaled out by the predators. And the predators are usually the punks of the senior class."

"And what about the 'not heard' part?" Shierra questioned.

"Just don't attract attention to yourself," Zuko said. "In order to appease the punks, you have to practically stay invisible, at least for the first day. After that, it doesn't really matter, because most of the statuses have been set."

Shierra narrowed her eyes at her brother again. "That's stupid."

Zuko chuckled in response. "I know. But it's the unofficial tradition. If you don't follow it, you'll be targeted. You're lucky I told you about it, otherwise, those seniors would've been torturing you for the rest of the year."

"But you're a senior," Shierra pointed out. "Can't you…I don't know…stand up for my friends and me? You have a lot of friends who could protect us."

"Shierra, you know I would do anything to protect you," Zuko said sincerely. "And I'm sure my friends would be willing to help you out as well…in any other situation. We all had to find out the hard way. You're lucky I told you at all."

The teenage girl groaned. "Alright. Fine."

Zuko nodded. "Good. And maybe you should tell your friends, too."

Shierra nodded in response. "Okay, I'll text them." Shierra ran upstairs to get her canvas bag that had all her supplies. She grabbed her phone off her nightstand and started to type.

**Hey, Zuko said not to wear anything outlandish. Don't ask why. It's supposed to be a school tradition. He said we're supposed to be seen and not heard. In other words, we have to be completely invisible. If we break the code on the first day of school, we'll be targeted by punks. Abide by the text if you want to survive this year.**

She sent the text to her closest friends in the same grade as her.

* * *

Sakura received the text from her best girlfriend. She moaned in response. She was planning to wear a really cute red scarf over her shirt. So much for that. But if it was a school tradition to just wear the school uniform and be quiet, who was she to argue? She placed her scarf back in her drawer and grabbed her bag to leave.

* * *

Hinata glanced at the text and nodded. She hadn't intended to wear anything out of the ordinary anyway. She was naturally quiet anyway. The day shouldn't cause too much trouble for her. All she was concerned with was hopefully catching the eye of her dream guy, Naruto.

* * *

Both Sasuke and Sai received the text. But they didn't really care. Both were just going to wear the normal uniform anyway. And neither was very loud anyway. So being silent for the day wouldn't really make a difference to them anyway.

* * *

"What the heck, man?" Kiba exclaimed angrily as he read Shierra's text. His sister, Hana, was a senior this year, and she hadn't mentioned anything of the sorts. He ran downstairs into the kitchen and threw his phone in her face. "Is this true?"

Hana read the text and nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Well why didn't you mention this to me before?" Kiba yelled.

"I was going to tell you when you came down for breakfast. I guess someone beat me to the punch," Hana shrugged.

"Darn it!" Kiba complained.

He stomped all the way back upstairs to his room. This was not going to be a good day. He had planned to wear his black leather jacket. He had also planned to flirt his way into as many female hearts as he could to show off his charm. Apparently, all that would have to wait until the second day of school.

"Man, this sucks."

* * *

Shino received the text from Shierra. He looked at it and sighed. He placed his beanie back on his dresser. The text didn't really matter that much to him. He was always relatively quiet anyway. But he had hoped that he could wear something that would enhance his style a little. After all, he was well-known for being invisible. He had hoped that this year, he could start off with a new name for himself.

"Oh well," he sighed again.

* * *

"Man, what a drag…punks?" Shikamaru sighed lazily as he stared at Shierra's text. "This is so troublesome."

* * *

Munch, munch, munch. "Be invisible, huh? Okay," Choji said as he looked at the text. The message didn't say anything about no eating barbecue chips, so Choji was definitely ready for the upcoming day.

* * *

"Ah man, the stupid battery died…" Naruto glanced at his phone. "I guess that's what I get for texting all week without charging it. Oh well, I think I should be fine without a cell for one day."

He plugged his phone into the outlet by his desk, grabbed a large black jacket, and pulled it over his school uniform. The back of the jacket had an orange swirl that signified a maelstrom. Naruto bought the jacket because he thought the symbol was fitting, considering his last name translated to 'Whirlpool.'

After he put the jacket on, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He smirked at himself. He punched the air in a triumphant manner. "Uzumaki, you are going to rock Konoha High. Believe it!" He grabbed his backpack and ran downstairs.


	2. Enter!  The Incoming Freshmen!

Zuko drove his car down the street, toward the high school. Shierra was seated in the passenger seat beside her brother. The teenage girl was practically jumping out of her seat in anticipation. The young adult turned to look at his strange sister.

"Shierra, could you please sit still? If I crash this car because of you distracting me, you're dead," Zuko stated. He had just gotten his new car over the summer, and he was not about to hurt his baby now.

"I can't help it! It's my first day of high school. This is so major! I can't wait!" Shierra practically yelled at the top of her lungs. Voicing her thoughts aloud encouraged her to jump up and down even more.

"Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. You look like you have to pee yourself," Zuko said seriously. Well, he tried to say it seriously, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face as he glanced at his baby sister.

"Alright, I'll stop," Shierra sighed sadly. She took a large breath to calm herself down. As she exhaled, she stared out the window at all the houses whisking by.

All of the houses were evenly spaced apart, and each house gave off a homey, comfortable vibe. It was only to be expected. Konoha was, in Shierra's opinion, a great place to live. It wasn't annoyingly busy, but it wasn't completely cut off from civilization either. It was a beautiful place to live, in every sense of the word.

"So Zu-zu, will you be sitting with my friends and me at lunch, or is that against the rules too?" Shierra asked in a teasing voice.

She was referring to the rules that he had stated earlier, about freshmen being quiet on the first day of school. But she didn't think that that meant that any of the other classes had to ignore them either.

Shierra got her answer from Zuko's silence. She saw his eyes glance at her nervously. "Oh my god! You're not sitting with us?"

"I can't!" Zuko yelled back.

"Why not?" Shierra screeched in return.

"It's part of the rules!" Zuko replied.

"Explain," Shierra growled fiercely.

Zuko sighed. "As part of the tradition, none of the other students are allowed to interact with the freshmen. It's almost considered a betrayal to your own class if you do. The point of this is so that the freshmen can figure everything out for themselves. And if they can't…then those are the prey for the senior predators."

"The punks," Shierra clarified.

"Right," Zuko replied. "I'm sorry, Squirt. But this is how it is. As long as you and your friends don't screw up today, things will be cool for the rest of the year."

Shierra fell back against her seat in exasperation. "Ugh!" she groaned loudly. "I haven't even gotten to school yet, and there are already a lot of stupid rules."

Zuko chuckled. "I know. Sorry. But you're tough; I think you'll be alright."

A few moments later, Zuko pulled into the student parking lot. There were already a lot of students there. The parking lot was filled with excited juniors and seniors who were lucky enough to have their own cars. Other students were arriving via their parents or school bus.

Zuko parked the car and got out. Shierra followed his lead and exited the car. The boy walked over to his sister and whispered, "If you need anything, just text. We're still all here for you if you need us."

Shierra nodded and gave her brother a small smile. It was nice to know that he and her other older friends would still be around. "Thank you."

"No problem," Zuko replied.

He gave her one last knowing smile, and then he walked off to find his own friends. Shierra watched him for a moment as she saw him head over to his best guy friend, Nuka Zabini. The boy with brown hair and sunglasses greeted Zuko. Nuka was wearing a green leather jacket over his school uniform, adding some color to the drab uniform. She saw the two boys talk, and then they glanced back at her. She smiled at them, and Nuka grinned in return.

"_Okay, here we go,"_ Shierra thought to herself in encouragement.

She walked off toward the courtyard, where a bunch of tables were placed. She intended to wait there for her own friends. As she walked, she passed Hatani and Tenten Sanjay. Hatani was another of Zuko's good friends. Shierra smirked to herself. She was convinced that Zuko and Hatani would be dating by the end of the year. Tenten was a year older than Shierra. They only knew each other through get-togethers that Zuko and Hatani and any of their other friends would have. But Shierra and Tenten were cool with each other.

When the two sisters saw Shierra, they smiled in her direction. Tenten tried to give a reassuring smile to the younger girl. Shierra took that as support, since Tenten had gone through this last year. Shierra nodded her head back to the brown-haired girl.

The raven-haired girl made her way over to the courtyard, where a bunch of tables were placed around. Her brother had already told her that students were allowed to eat outside if they wanted. These were probably lunch tables.

Shierra looked around for a place to sit when she saw her friend, Sai, sitting at a table next to a giant oak tree. She smiled as she went over and sat across from him. "Hey, Sai," she greeted.

He looked up at her from the book he was reading and gave her one of his famous fake smiles. Then he turned back to the book.

Shierra grimaced at his reaction. Usually, he at least said 'Hello' with that fake smile of his. What's the deal? "Sai, are you alright?"

He looked up at her and smiled again.

"What are you doing? You can't even say hi now?" Shierra asked.

"He's taking the whole invisible thing very seriously," a voice from behind the girl said. Shierra turned around to see her good friend, Sasuke, walk up to the table. He sat down beside her and glanced at Sai before turning back to Shierra. "I drove him to school today, and he didn't say one word the whole way over."

"What? Sai, you can talk. You just can't scream everything you're saying," Shierra said.

Sai stared at her like she was crazy. He pulled out a pen and a piece of paper before he started writing. After a few moments, he handed the sheet of paper to Shierra. She held it up and read:

You said that we have to be invisible. Talking is not being invisible, and you are now breaking your own rules, Stupid.

Shierra instantly began to hit her head on the table repeatedly. Sai was a nice guy…sometimes. But he was just so clueless. What she meant by the text was not be loud. Obviously, he just misinterpreted the message, just like he misinterprets everything. Seriously, he needed to get some tutoring lessons on how to be social. He never seemed to pick up on anything anyone was saying unless it had to do with schoolwork.

Sasuke took the note that Sai had given Shierra and read it. After a few seconds, he snickered. "Stupid…" he chuckled. He only laughed because it was ironic. Sai could call Shierra stupid all he wanted, but everyone in their class had predicted that Shierra was going to be valedictorian when they all graduated.

Shierra punched Sasuke in the shoulder. The black-haired boy flinched. She was also pretty strong when she wanted to be.

"Shut up, Duck-Butt Head," she mumbled.

Sasuke's eye twitched when she said that. He was used to girls falling head-over-heels for his looks. Nearly every girl in their grade—and a lot from other grades as well—had fallen for him. Not that he enjoyed it. Because now, those silly little crushes had evolved into infatuation, which was now getting to the point of stalking. And that's why he was close with Shierra; she had never had a crush on him like his fan girls did. And it was quite refreshing to have a girl to talk to without her drooling on him. But still…he hated it when she was brutally honest with him, such as calling him Duck-Butt head.

"You know, you could be a little nicer," Sasuke said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Shierra asked. The boy beside her just sighed in defeat.

"Hey y'all," a happy voice said from behind. Everyone turned to see pink hair bobbing up and down. Sakura took a seat beside her best girlfriend. "So, how's everyone's first day going?"

"Sakura, we just got here. School didn't even officially start yet," Shierra reminded.

"So? I'm talking about the social part of school. Did you find any cute guys yet?" Sakura asked eagerly.

"No, but I think Sasuke's favorite fan girl has just spotted her interpretation of God," Shierra pointed to a bubbling blonde in the distance. The girl was running as fast as the speed of light over to their table. Sasuke instantly paled, making him look completely transparent.

"Hide me," Sasuke whispered frantically as he scrambled under the table. The blonde girl ran up them, and with no sign of Sasuke, she sighed in disappointment.

"Where's Sasuke? I know you know where he is," the girl pointed at Shierra accusingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shierra lied.

"Just tell me where he is! I know he was just here!" the girl shouted.

"Ino, could you possibly take your little shrieking session elsewhere? Some of us want to keep it low key today. And your annoyingly pitchy voice is going to set the Earth off its axis," Shierra countered.

The girl named Ino scoffed. "Pfft, you're such a nerd. I can't believe I'm still standing here anyway with you dorks. I have to go find my Sasuke." With that, the blonde girl stalked off.

Once the coast was clear, Sasuke pulled himself up from his hiding spot. He took his seat on the other side of Shierra. He was inhaling and exhaling deeply to lower his heart rate. The two girls snickered at him while Sai continued to have that blank expressionless look on his face.

"Aw, look at this," Sakura laughed. "The great Sasuke Uchiha has been scared out of his wits by a petite blonde."

"Yeah, but that petite blonde has the equivalent tackling strength of a football player," Sasuke retorted. He instantly shivered at the thought of Ino running at him, hugging and squeezing him like a teddy bear.

"Well, well," a voice said. Everyone looked up to see Kiba standing behind Sai. The brown-haired boy took a seat at the table, grinning widely. "Looks like this is the official meeting spot for our little group."

"Very observant of you, Kiba," Shierra said. He smiled at her comment.

The girl quickly placed her hand over her face, trying to block anyone from seeing her blush. She wasn't a fan girl of Kiba's, but she will admit that she had always thought of him as handsome. But they were good friends because of their interest in animals and nature. It gave them a lot to talk about during biology class.

But the last thing she really needed was someone thinking that she did like Kiba. Shierra did not date. That was a fact. She was too focused on keeping up with her studies. And even though everyone said that she was easily going to become top of the class when she graduated, she needed to make sure that she didn't slack off. The worst thing that could happen was to get distracted or egotistical when it came to grades. Shierra had to make sure she did everything she could to keep her grades high.

"H-Hello, everybody," a small voice greeted. Hinata was walking up to the group, Shino following.

"Hey, Hinata," Kiba greeted. Kiba and Hinata had been friends since kindergarten. She was the calm to his wild, and he helped her to become more independent. Their friendship was actually rather touching.

"Thanks for the greetings, Kiba," Shino said sarcastically.

The brown-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe if you didn't blend in so well with that tree, I might have seen you." Shino didn't reply; he just leaned against the giant oak tree that provided shade over the table. Hinata sat beside Kiba.

"Well, it looks like the gang's all here. How troublesome…" a lazy voice commented. A familiar munching sound could be heard from the same direction that the voice had come from.

"Hey, Shikamaru. Hey, Chouji," Shierra greeted. She didn't have to turn around to see who the pair was.

"Geez, you don't even bother turning around to look at us when you greet us? Women… so annoyingly troublesome," Shikamaru said as he came to stand in front of the table. Chouji stood beside his best friend. The two boys had been friends since they were two-years-old. They were inseparable, and they looked out for each other.

"Actually, you're wrong, Shikamaru," Sakura said as she pointed at the pineapple-haired teen. "Not everyone's here yet. We're still waiting on Naruto."

"Geez, what's wrong with you, Shikamaru?" Shierra mocked playfully. "Your observation skills are slipping."

"That's what happens after he doesn't leave his house at all during the three months of summer," Chouji teased.

"Hey, man…there's no need to be cruel," Shikamaru said. "Troublesome friends…"

"Where is Naruto, anyway?" Kiba asked. "I would've thought he came to camp out here last night; he's been so excited for high school to start."

"I don't know what happened to him," Shierra shrugged. It was indeed perplexing. Naruto had been talking about freshman year since sixth grade. It would have been assumed that he would be the first one of their group to arrive.

"He's definitely going to make a big show of his entrance, whenever he gets here," Shikamaru said.

"And then he's going to get us all killed by seniors," Sasuke sighed.

"I texted him not to. C'mon, Naruto is not that much of an idiot," Shierra said to the two boys.

"Wanna bet?" both boys said simultaneously.

Just because the universe loves to prove Shierra wrong, a car pulled up to the drop-off area. Naruto emerged from the passenger seat, and the car drove off after he shut the door. The blonde boy took a look around at the school and grinned.

His friends, however, were gaping at him. He was wearing his new black jacket with the orange whirlpool symbol on the back. Even though the school uniforms were already black and white, his jacket was pretty noticeable. Or maybe it was just that his personality pulled all eyes in his direction.

"_Please don't do anything stupid; please don't do anything stupid…"_ Shierra chanted inside her head.

"HELLO, KONOHA HIGH!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. "MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI! AND ALL YOU PUNKS WILL BOW DOWN TO MY AWESOMENESS!"

"You have got to be kidding me," Sakura muttered as she stared at the blonde.

"I told you," Shikamaru said as he lazily placed his head back, his eyes closed as his face stared at the sky.

"Oh, like you're always right," Shierra hissed.

"Actually, I am," Shikamaru countered.

Darn. That was true. It's a shame the guy was so lazy. He could easily have graduated from college by now.

Naruto was now walking across the courtyard. Students and teachers alike were staring at him like he was some kind of weird mutant. Actually, his friends were still under investigation of that theory.

The boy with the whiskered face stood in front of the table where his friends were hanging around. He grinned cheekily at them. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

The group of teens stared at him like he had just grown an extra head, which could be possible, considering his friends were trying to find out if he really was a mutant.

"What's up? What's up?" Shierra hissed as she repeated his question. "Naruto, didn't you get my text this morning?"

"Text? What text?" Naruto asked. He quickly tried to remember his morning. Then it hit him. "Oh yeah. My battery died."

All his friends stared at him. "Idiot," Sasuke muttered.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, JERK?" Naruto screamed at his best friend.

"You're an idiot," Sasuke repeated.

"Why I oughta…" Naruto muttered as he made his way to punch Sasuke in the face.

Shierra stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Naruto, the text I sent you said that you weren't supposed to wear anything besides the school uniform. It's a tradition for all freshmen on their first day of school."

"Well, that's dumb. Why?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. Zuko told me this morning. He just said that the seniors will target anyone who breaks the tradition," Shierra said.

"Yeah, Hana said the same thing," Kiba said, trying to prove to Naruto that Shierra wasn't making this up as some kind of weird joke.

"Well, if it's that important, I'll take the jacket off. Geez…" Naruto muttered.

"That's not all," Shierra interrupted.

"What else?" Naruto asked.

"Zuko also said that we have to be quiet today. We weren't supposed to attract attention to ourselves," the raven-haired girl explained.

"And dude, you just attracted the attention of the entire village," Kiba laughed.

"Oh…" was all Naruto managed to say. He glanced around to see that everyone, indeed, was staring at the group of freshmen, namely him.

The rest of the group discreetly looked around as well, trying to make sure that some big thug didn't decide to attack them. All eyes were staring at the group, and the teens instantly grew nervous. But everything seemed to be safe…for now.

Kiba tapped Shierra's shoulder, and she turned to look at him. He pointed over in another direction, toward the student parking lot. Shierra then noticed that Zuko, Nuka, Hatani, Hana, and her boyfriend, Sokka, were staring at the freshmen group. Each of the seniors had different expressions on their faces.

Zuko was shaking his head in disappointment at Naruto. Nuka was laughing hysterically, even though on the inside, he felt sort of bad for them. Hatani was appalled at Naruto's outburst in front of the whole school. Hana's eyebrow was raised in surprise, but she had no idea how to react to something like that. Sokka adjusted his glasses, trying to avoid having to deal with this awkward situation.

Shierra turned back to look at Kiba. "Well, this is certainly not how I intended our first day of high school to be going."

Suddenly, her cell phone started buzzing. She reached into her purse and opened her phone. It was a text from Zuko.

She read the message: Get inside ASAP before someone decides to slaughter you guys.

Shierra turned around and looked back at her brother. He nodded his head, indicating that she needed to move. His friends had the same serious expressions on their faces.

"Alright, guys," Shierra said as she stood up. "We should head inside."

"I agree," Sasuke said. "Before Naruto decides to embarrass us again…"

"Shut up, jerk!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

Shierra grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him along. "Let's just go, Naruto!"

"Fine, but I'm only going for you. Because you're my forever girl!" Naruto said happily.

The raven-haired girl groaned at her whiskered friend. He had always had a crush on her, ever since they met when they were five. Seriously, he needed to get over it. She would never accept him as anything more than one of her best guy friends. He was probably like another brother to her, but he wouldn't understand that. His mind was always on trying to think of new ways to get her to go out with him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Naruto. Just get inside," the girl ordered. The group was following her toward the school building, where all the classes would be held.

Just as the adolescents were about to enter the school, a gang of seniors moved to block the entrance. They were all extremely buff. They were wearing black leather jackets with a picture of a bull on the back.

The one in the middle, presumably the leader, stepped in front to stare down the group. He had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. A disgusting smirk was plastered across his face. "And just where do you think you kids are going?"


	3. Halfway There

The group of freshmen reflexively took a step back as the gang of seniors glared down at them. "We don't want any trouble," Shino said quietly.

"We don't care what you want," the guy in the front said. "But what you need is for someone to teach you lot some manners."

"Yeah, no freshman is allowed to walk around like they're hot stuff," a big fat guy with black hair said. As he made his statement, the group of older teens turned their eyes to none other than Naruto.

Even Naruto's friends turned their eyes to glance at him, seeing as how he was the newfound target of this gang. But it would take a lot more than some scary-looking seniors to stop them from protecting their friend.

"Look guys, all we wish to do is go inside to get ready for class," Shierra said.

"Aw, look at this…the little bookworm is protecting her little freaky whiskered boyfriend," the dark green-eyed boy said in a sickening sweet voice. His gang erupted into laughter at this.

Shierra involuntarily twitched. No one, except her friends, was allowed to call her names that referred to her studying habits. Yes, every name that was thrown at her was true. However, Shierra did not handle name-calling well. And if anyone besides her friends chose to insult her, she was not going to stand for it.

Her friends, knowing every detail that made up the person they knew as Shierra, instantly grabbed her shoulders and arms to stop her from tearing the faces off of the seniors.

Well, except for Naruto. No one got away with insulting the love of his life and lived to tell the tale. He charged forward to step in front of his new arch enemy. Before any of his friends could stop him, he was already in the gang leader's face.

"What was your name again, brat?" the leader asked as he hissed in Naruto's face.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Instantly, the group erupted into a fit of laughter. "Naruto? Your name is fishcake? Hahahahahahahahaha!" The gang of seniors continued with their laughter.

This only provoked Naruto even more. The blonde freshman pulled back his right arm, his hand balled into a fist. His friends lunged at him in an attempt to stop him, but it was no use. In the blink of an eye, the green-eyed senior was hunched over, holding his stomach in pain.

Naruto smirked as he stood above the old kid. "Hopefully, that'll make you think twice before you insult my friends and me!" he yelled down at the senior, who was now on the ground moaning in pain.

The triumphant blonde turned around to face his friends. The girls were all appalled that he had just punched a senior in the gut. The boys were proud of their friend and of his display of strength. And then Naruto noticed that pretty much the rest of the school was watching him as well. He smiled as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"So…uh…want to head to class now?" Naruto asked with an embarrassed smile.

"You are not going anywhere," a loud feminine voice boomed from out of nowhere.

All the students immediately turned around to search for the mysterious voice. Then they saw a woman standing off to the side, glaring at the group of seniors and freshman who were huddled at the school entrance. The woman had long blonde hair that was pulled into pigtails. She was wearing a green sweater over her white blouse and also had black dress pants. Her lips were painted a ruby red to match her painted fingernails. All in all, she was a very beautiful lady. Well, except for her giant breasts…

"That's the principal!" Shierra whispered to her friends. Quickly and simultaneously, the freshmen bowed down in respect to the woman. Well, Naruto didn't understand at first. But when Sakura painfully yanked his head down so that he was bowing as well, he got the message.

When the woman noticed that none of the seniors were bowing down, she immediately turned on them. "Well, well…it's the first day of school, and already, you Lightning Bulls are causing trouble."

"Heh, not this time, Lady Tsunade," the leader said. "Not one of us threw the first punch this time."

"Oh please, Nadare Yama. You're a compulsive liar. Why should I believe anything you say?" the principal asked.

"Because for once, I happen to be telling the truth." The boy named Nadare pointed at Naruto. "That kid over there threw the first punch. We have witnesses," he added as he gestured to the new students.

The woman turned around to look at Naruto. "Is this true? Did you punch him first?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well…when you phrase it like that… then yes…I punched him first." Tsunade instantly glared at the blonde freshman. He quickly added his rebuttal. "But he was threatening and insulting us. I was only defending my friends!"

Tsunade stared at Naruto. She bit her lip in thought as she glanced between Naruto and Nadare. Then her eyes rested back on Naruto. "What is your name?"

The boy hesitated but replied nonetheless. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Okay…Yama and Uzumaki…Detention after school today!" Tsunade yelled.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled in shock.

Nadare, however, didn't seem too fazed by this. He merely shrugged. The group of freshmen instantly began to wonder if he was given detention every day of his high school life so far.

"But… but…" Naruto stammered.

"There are no buts!" Tsunade yelled at Naruto. "You both will report to my office directly after school and stay for as long as I feel that you need to. Now all of you go to your homerooms!" And with that, the blonde woman stalked off inside the school.

Naruto hunched over in sadness. This was certainly not how the first day of high school was supposed to go.

"C'mon, Naruto… let's go to class," Sakura said quietly, which was surprising since she usually spoke to the blonde boy in a loud, obnoxious tone.

"Yeah…alright…" the boy muttered.

* * *

After receiving their schedules, the group of freshmen was forced to part ways. First period was English, but because there was a different range of intelligence within their group, the freshmen were placed in different classes. Some were placed in the advanced placement class while the others with placed in honors or A-level.

After that was history. Since this was a relatively easy subject, everyone was in the same class together. Naruto seemed to have gotten over his depression about detention. He was grinning when he sat with his friends in the back of the classroom. But when Iruka-sensei signaled him out in front of the whole classroom for talking, he nearly earned himself a detention after his detention. Luckily, Shierra was there to save his sorry butt…again. After apologizing profusely for Naruto's rude behavior, Iruka decided to let it go, but he gave the blonde a strict warning.

Shikamaru was only slightly annoyed at this. _"Geez…what a suck up to the teachers… no wonder she gets straight A's. How troublesome…"_ he thought to himself as he watched Shierra.

The next two periods were electives, so the group was separated again. There was art class, computer science, engineering, and some other classes as well. But a lot of them were just in study hall.

Lunch finally arrived, and the freshmen decided to sit outside at the same table that they had occupied before school had started. Some of them were in good moods while others were sort of bummed.

"Would you believe I got homework already? What's up with that?" Kiba complained. "In engineering of all things! Ibiki-sensei is a mad lunatic!"

"He's also really scary looking. Did you see those creepy scars on his face?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke, who was sitting beside the blonde, instantly hit his best friend upside the head. "Idiot. Don't judge other people when you're a freak of nature yourself."

"Jerk!" Naruto yelled.

"Hey… are you gonna eat that?" Chouji asked as he looked at the untouched sandwich in front of Naruto.

"Yes! Don't touch my food!" Naruto shot back.

"Sorry. I just didn't want it to go to waste," Chouji muttered. Shikamaru patted him on the back in reassurance.

"I'm just glad the day is halfway over," Shierra said.

"What did you just say?" Sakura asked in a joking manner. "Shierra Leola doesn't want to be in school? Oh my goodness, it's a sign of the apocalypse. We're all going to die."

The group burst out into laughter. Well, for those in the group who don't laugh out loud, they chuckled or snickered.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Shierra replied sarcastically. "I just meant that I can't wait until this is all over… you know… the whole invisible thing."

"Oh, right…"the pink-haired girl said.

"If any of you were observant, you would notice that we have been watched since the start of lunch," Shino said.

"W-W-What?" Hinata asked, her face turning a deep crimson color at the thought of everyone in the school watching her.

"Look around," Shino commanded.

At the demand, the first-year students looked around the courtyard. Indeed, there were a few scary-looking older kids eyeing them up. But the majority of them belonged to the Lightning Bulls, the gang of seniors who had landed Naruto in detention after school.

"I wonder why they haven't decided to attack us yet," Shierra said. "I thought after this morning, that that Nadare kid would've tried to pummel Naruto at least by now."

"Ha! Maybe he's just too scared that I'll kick his butt again," Naruto said cockily as he sported a foxy grin.

Sasuke slapped Naruto behind the head again. "Shut up, idiot."

"Would you stop that?" Naruto yelled.

This time, the raven-haired boy pushed Naruto's head down, causing him to hit it on the table. "I said be quiet! You're going to get us all killed! You're so loud!"

"HI, SASUKE!" a loud siren call echoed through the courtyard. Said boy instantly flinched at the loud shriek that was his name. And it was a sad day indeed when Sasuke Uchiha visibly flinched in front of a group of people.

"Hehe, still think I'm loud?" Naruto asked. The unhappy Uchiha glared daggers at his friend.

"Well, she obviously didn't catch the hint on being invisible," Shikamaru said as he rubbed his temples in irritation. Chouji snickered at his friend's comment.

"Oh dear Lord, she's coming…" Sasuke said as he tried to turn his face away from the blonde girl.

In any other situation, the Uchiha would most likely be his normal emotionless self. But whenever Ino Yamanaka was involved, she always scared the living daylights out of him. Even though his friends understood why he tried to avoid her at all costs, they still found it hilarious that the big bad Uchiha was intimidated by a small petite blonde girl.

Ino bounded, or rather sprinted, over to their table. "Hi, Sasuke!" she repeated.

Onyx eyes glared at the girl. But unfortunately, she didn't get the hint. So he was forced to speak to her. "Ino…go away."

"Aw, c'mon, Sasuke," she replied in a flirtatious manner. "How about you and I go find a more… private place to have lunch?"

"Why don't you say what you really want to say, Ino?" Shierra interrupted. "By private place, everyone knows you mean the backseat of a car."

At that comment, Sasuke started choking on the bite of his sandwich that he was about to swallow. Naruto instantly began pounding his fist on his back, trying to help. Plus, hitting Sasuke as hard as he could was good payback for all those times that the blonde had received a smack to the head. However, Sasuke picked up on the hidden meaning for the blows to his back, and he quickly caught Naruto's wrist before he could cause further damage to his spine.

"No one asked you, nerd!" Ino snapped at the black-haired girl.

Shierra flinched at the name. Just as before, she hated it when others decided to use her brains as a means of making fun of her. Seriously, people needed to get into their heads that intelligence helped you succeed. It's not that she didn't like being smart. But when people decided to tease her because of it, she was more than ready to tear some limbs apart.

Luckily, Sakura saved her from receiving her own detention. "Hey, Ino. I think it's time to wax the fur you got growing on your upper lip. And…oh my god, is that a zit or another head you have growing on your nose! Gross!"

Ino's hands instantly flew to cover her mouth and nose. She glared at the pinkette, but then she ran off anyway in search of a mirror to check for herself.

The group instantly erupted into laughs and chuckles. Well, Sasuke only breathed a sigh of relief. "Shierra, Sakura… thanks…" he muttered almost inaudibly. Even to his friends, he had issues with being grateful.

"No problem, Sasuke," Sakura said.

"I need to thank you too, Sakura. If you hadn't said what you did, Ino would be in the hospital right now," Shierra smiled. "Not that that would be a bad thing…but I'd rather keep my permanent record clean."

"Oh, no need to thank me," the pinkette replied nonchalantly.

Sai, who had been convinced earlier during second period that he was allowed to talk, spoke for the first time during lunch. "There is no need to thank Sakura. She did what she did because she wants Sasuke all for herself."

At first, everyone was kind of stunned that Sai had decided to talk. But when what he said registered in everyone's minds, they all, excluding Sasuke and Sakura, burst out into laughs. And if it hadn't been for the invisible rule, their laughter would have been heard throughout the courtyard; but by some miracle, they were able to keep their laughter to a limit.

While everyone laughed, Sasuke turned his head away to not make eye contact with any of his friends. They truly enjoyed harassing him about everything. Naruto once said it was because he was so easy to tease. Sasuke had hit him over the head when he had said that.

Sakura was blushing like crazy, her face turning the same shade of color as her hair. Yes, it was true she had a huge crush on the Uchiha. Actually, it used to be called an "unhealthy obsessive infatuation", as Kiba had called it once. But Sakura had calmed her hormones down excessively during middle school. The reason was because she found out that she got Sasuke's attention more when she was civil to him, rather than clinging to him.

The bell suddenly rang, signaling for all the students to move onto sixth period. Reluctantly, the teens stood up and headed inside the school to finish the rest of their day.


	4. Lightning Strikes

The bell rang loudly throughout the school. Students quickly left their classrooms to head to their final class.

Eighth period gym was finally over for the freshmen. All they had to do was receive their lockers to put their clothes in. After that, it was relatively boring.

"Finally! Only one more class left!" Sakura groaned.

"Yeah, but it is math now," Shierra said. The pinkette instantly hunched over in sadness.

"Darn…why couldn't we have study hall ninth period? That would be amazing," Sakura said.

"I th-thought that you l-l-liked m-math," Hinata stuttered as she looked at Sakura.

"I do, but math after gym class is just annoying. By the end of the day, I'm too tired to focus on adding and subtracting," Sakura complained.

Shierra laughed. "C'mon, let's just go to class," she said as she nudged her friend along.

Together, the three girls exited the locker room and out into the hallway. Since the gym was on the opposite side of the school from the normal classrooms, these particular corridors were pretty empty. As they walked and talked, they failed to notice that there was a group of guys walking directly behind them.

Hinata was the first one to notice. She squeaked when she recognized who they were and when she realized they were walking faster to catch up to them. "Um….g-guys?" she stammered as she looked to her two friends.

"What's wrong?" Shierra asked as she turned to look at the pale girl. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw them.

The Lightning Bulls.

Sakura turned to look as well, and she inhaled sharply when she noticed that the gang of seniors was staring right at them.

"Don't make eye contact," Shierra hissed.

Quickly, the three girls faced forward again, trying to not look back. The footsteps echoed behind them, getting closer and closer. The suspense was excruciatingly painful as the girls tried to pick up speed to get to a more crowded hallway.

Suddenly, just before the girls could round a corner, they felt strong hands grip their shoulders. Before any one of them could react, the guys had the girls pinned up against the lockers.

"Well, well… it looks like we've stumbled upon some very pretty freshmen ladies," the guy named Nadare said with smirk.

"Look, I don't know what you want, but please just leave us alone," Shierra said in a tone that she hoped sounded firm.

"Oh don't worry. We're not going to hurt you girls. Well, at least not yet anyway," Nadare said as he stared at the three girls. Then his face hardened. "You're friends with Uzumaki. That brat needs to be taught a lesson. And what better way to teach that lesson than with some assistance from his friends?"

"If you think we're going to comply so easily, you've got another thing coming!" Sakura screamed as she kneed the nearest guy in that place where… well, in that place.

Her captor fell to the ground, moaning in pain. But being that there were ten guys in the gang, Sakura was easily caught again. This time, the thugs dragged her and the other two girls away towards the doors that led outside. They gagged them with clothes to make sure they couldn't yell for help.

But no one noticed the girl hiding behind the corner. She took a deep breath when she was sure the Lightning Bulls were gone. But a feeling of fear crept over her when she realized what she had just witnessed.

The second bell rang, signaling that all students should be in their classrooms. The girl sighed, heading to her math class. Her long blonde hair swished behind her as she ran.

* * *

"Sakura Haruno," Yamato said as he took attendance.

No reply. The brown-haired teacher made a mark on his sheet, saying she was absent.

"Hinata Hyuuga," he continued.

No reply again. He made a second note on his teacher.

Sasuke looked around the room. Indeed, the pinkette and shy brunette were nowhere to be found. Shierra was gone as well. And Shierra was never late to class.

The Uchiha looked over at Naruto, who was sitting beside him. The blonde was as oblivious as ever. He was attempting to balance a pencil on his nose. When Yamato wasn't looking, Sasuke reached over and slapped Naruto in the head.

The pencil flew off of Naruto's nose, rolling onto the floor and out of his reach. Scowling, the boy looked over at his friend. "What?"

"Where are Shierra and the other girls?" Sasuke asked.

"How should I know?"

"Well, I figured since you're in love with Shierra, you would keep tabs on her whereabouts," Sasuke replied.

"I saw her during last period gym. But that was it," Naruto shrugged.

"And you don't think it's odd that she's not here now?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked around the classroom, seeming to realize, for the first time since class started, that the girls weren't there. He shrugged his shoulders again. "Maybe they got lost."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the blonde. He was about to retort when the classroom door opened.

It was Ino. And the poor girl looked traumatized. She didn't even brighten up when she noticed that Sasuke was staring at her. She only glanced at him and then turned her blue eyes to look at Naruto. At the sight of the whiskered boy, she quickly stiffened.

"Excuse me, but you're tardy. What was your name?" Yamato asked.

The girl looked as if she was trying to remember something that was long forgotten. Then she replied, "Ino Yamanaka."

"Well, Miss Yamanaka, you're late. That's a green slip," Yamato said as he handed her a green piece of paper. Absentmindedly, Ino took the note and sat down in the empty seat beside Naruto.

Once attendance was over, class officially started. It wasn't anything important. Yamato was only going over class rules and what the students would be learning during the year, just like every other teacher had done in the preceding classes.

Class seemed to go on forever. The clock seemed to be going in ultra slow motion. But then finally, the hands turned to three o'clock. The bell rang, and all the students quickly fled from the school.

The group of freshmen was standing with Naruto at the blonde's locker as he threw his books inside of it in annoyance.

"I can't believe I got detention on the first day of school!" Naruto said in irritation.

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't have made enemies by making yourself so annoyingly loud to the whole school," Shikamaru said.

"Fine! I'll remember that when some big thug wants to beat us up! You can defend yourself next time. I won't get in the way!" Naruto said as he turned to the lazy student.

"Oh please. You weren't doing it for us. You punched that guy for Shierra," Kiba said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So? You got a problem with that?" Naruto shot back.

"Actually, has anyone even seen Shierra? And Sakura and Hinata for that matter?" Chouji asked.

"No. They missed last period," Sasuke said expressionlessly. Even though he wouldn't show it, or admit it to anyone, he was actually very worried for the sake of the three girls.

"That is definitely not like them," Sai added.

"I'm sure you guys are overreacting. Seriously, it's only the first day of school. It's not like they missed anything important. There's really nothing wrong with cutting one class," Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Says the person who has detention with the principal," Shino said.

Naruto glanced at the clock that was at the end of the hallway. "Speaking of which… I have to go now," he said solemnly. "See you later, guys."

"See you," the group called after him.

Naruto walked sadly down the hallway. As other students were exiting the school, he was walking into the principal's office.

"Ah, Mr. Uzumaki. Good to see that you were smart enough to come to your detention, unlike Mr. Yama," Lady Tsunade said when she saw the younger blonde walk into her office.

It was then that Naruto noticed that Nadare was, indeed, nowhere around. "So… does that mean I get to leave early for being good?" he asked hopefully.

"Haha, nice try," Tsunade chuckled. "Sit down."

Naruto sighed in defeat. He took a seat at one of the desks in the office. He rested his head in his arms to prepare for a nice nap.

* * *

Ino was standing outside of the principal's office. Having received a green slip from Yamato, she was supposed to hand it in to the principal as punishment. Lady Tsunade would then record it in the school records.

"Great…" Ino muttered to herself.

Before she walked inside, she glanced inside the office. Beside the door was a large glass window that showed the inside of the principal's office. Ino glanced in to see Lady Tsunade filling out paperwork at her desk. And sitting at one of the student desks was Naruto.

Ino instantly stilled. Ever since she had witnessed the Lightning Bulls take Shierra, Sakura, and Hinata away, she had felt immediate guilt for not trying to stop them. And she didn't even tell Naruto or Sasuke or any of the other guys who really cared about the three girls.

And for the life of her, Ino couldn't understand why she felt bad. She had never liked Sakura; they had just never gotten along…probably because Sakura was always hanging out with guys, especially Sasuke. She had always found Shierra weird; her intelligence was such a turnoff…but the real reason she disliked her was probably because Sasuke actually liked talking to Shierra. And she had always thought Hinata was annoyingly shy; it was kind of annoying how shy she was and how much she stuttered when you asked her a simple question.

All in all, Ino never really cared for any of those girls. They just weren't the type that she would hang out with.

So why did she feel guilty?

And then it suddenly clicked in Ino's head.

Maybe she didn't really hate those girls as much as she thought. Maybe…maybe she was… jealous of them.

Yes, that had to be it. She was jealous of those girls because they had everything that she wanted. Sakura was a friendly person; she was friends with practically everyone. Shierra was so smart, and that opened so many doors for her in the future. Hinata was shy, but it was actually adorable because it also showed her caring nature.

In reality, Ino wished she could be like those three.

"Darn it," Ino sighed.

She quickly started digging through her purse and whipped out a pen and a piece of paper. She scribbled something on the paper quickly, and then she took a deep breath. She slowly entered the office and looked over at the principal.

Naruto looked up to see who had entered and frowned when he saw it was only Ino.

Tsunade looked up and folded her hands in front of her face. "Hello. What can I help you with?"

"I, um, received a green slip last period," Ino said as she handed the green piece of paper to the older blonde woman.

Tsunade sighed at this. "A green slip on your first day… that's disappointing," the woman said as she eyed Ino up and down.

"I know," the girl said quietly.

Tsunade began to record the green slip into the school records. As the principal was distracted on the computer, Ino slowly walked over to Naruto's desk. He raised an eyebrow at her when he noticed that she was now standing in front of his desk. Without Tsunade noticing, Ino placed a folded piece of notebook paper on the desk. Naruto stared at it and then looked at her, but he took it nevertheless.

"Well, that green slip has been added to your record. You had better stay behaved, because if those green slips continue to pile up, you'll be suspended," Tsunade said.

"Don't worry, My Lady. It won't happen again," Ino said. She bowed respectfully and then headed towards the door. She glanced at Naruto quickly before she exited the room.

The room was left with Naruto and Tsunade again. Careful to make sure the principal wasn't looking at him, Naruto pulled out Ino's note. He read it carefully, and his eyebrows shot up until they disappeared into his hairline.

**Nadare's got Shierra, Sakura, and Hinata somewhere. The Lightning Bulls are holding them hostage somewhere. You have to find them!**

Naruto didn't know if Ino was telling the truth or not. But considering the three girls were missing during ninth period, and Nadare wasn't in detention with him right now, this bit of info certainly made sense.

Without even bothering to tell Tsunade, Naruto stood up and ran out of the room. Surprised that he had just run out, Tsunade stood up and yelled at the now open door. "Naruto! Where are you going? Get back here, now!"

But Naruto was already running down the hallway, out toward the student parking lot.


	5. The Showdown

"Where is my cousin?" Neji Hyuuga growled fiercely as he grabbed Kiba by the collar, pulling the slightly scared freshman closer.

"I told you, Neji! I don't know!" Kiba yelled in his defense. Unfortunately, it only made the pale-eyed boy angrier.

The freshman boys had gone to the courtyard in hopes of finding the three missing girls. There was no sign of them. Neji, being the overprotective cousin who was supposed to drive Hinata home, was not happy when the younger boys admitted to not knowing where their friends were.

"Neji, please calm down," Rock Lee tried to persuade his friend.

"I will not calm down," Neji snarled back to his bowl-haired friend. "These stupid freshmen lost my cousin!"

"Hey! Get off my brother!" a very tough female voice screamed.

Everyone turned around to see Hana stomping up to them, Zuko following. The brown-haired girl shoved Neji over, making the normally graceful boy stumble to catch his footing. Kiba brought a hand to his throat, covering it protectively. There was a moment when he was sure Neji would end up strangling him.

"What's your problem?" Hana screamed at Neji.

"Your brother has the audacity to tell me that my cousin is missing, and he didn't even bother looking for her," Neji said. He turned back to glare at the brown-haired boy. "And you call yourself a friend to Hinata." His eyes looked over all the freshman boys. "You all are worthless if you don't keep track of your own company."

Zuko looked over at the group of boys, and he instantly grew nervous as well. "Wait…where's Shierra? Sakura and Hinata… all three of them are missing?" Zuko asked worriedly.

Kiba looked reluctant to answer, for fear of another choking session. He glanced at the other five guys, hoping for someone else to be brave enough to be the bearer of bad news.

Sasuke sighed and took a step forward. "All three of them are gone," he said emotionlessly, even though on the inside, he was really concerned.

Zuko's eyes widened considerably. Then he glared at Sasuke. It just appeared to be a trend that the one who was brave enough to break the bad news was the one who would feel the wrath of the overprotective relative.

The senior pulled Sasuke over to him by grasping his shirt. "How the heck do you lose three girls?"

"We saw them go into the girls' locker room to get assigned gym lockers during eighth period. But they never showed up for ninth period math," Sasuke replied stoically. He gently removed Zuko's hands from his shirt.

The older boy's face had gone even paler than normal. He had stopped breathing, and his lungs were screaming for oxygen. But he ignored them. His only thoughts were about his missing sister. He placed his hands on his face and moaned into them in frustration.

Hana thought it necessary to intervene before Zuko decided to slaughter the freshmen. "Are you sure they didn't say anything about where they were going?" she asked calmly.

"No. They didn't say anything," Shikamaru replied.

"Where's Naruto? He would normally know where Shierra is," Zuko said hopefully.

"We asked him, and he said he didn't know. He's in detention now with that Nadare kid anyway," Chouji said.

Zuko instantly stiffened. Hana's mouth fell open. "Did…did you just say Naruto's in detention…?" Zuko asked.

"With Nadare?" Hana added.

"Yes," Sai said. "Lady Tsunade placed the two in detention for fighting before school started."

"Shit!" Zuko cursed. He proceeded to stomp around and release a variety of curses.

"Um…did we miss something?" Kiba asked cautiously.

"Nadare Yama gets in trouble all the time," Hana explained as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Lady Tsunade has given him detention almost every day of his high school life. And he skips nearly all of them."

"What?" the freshmen boys shouted in unison.

"Why on earth does Lady Tsunade let that go then?" Shikamaru asked. "Why doesn't she just expel him?"

"She suspends Nadare all the time. The only reason why he hasn't been expelled is because his parents are powerful figures in Konoha. They act as advisors to the mayor. The first and only time Tsunade tried expelling Nadare, his parents nearly had the school closed because of it," Hana said.

"So you're saying that Nadare probably had something to do with the fact that the girls are missing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not probably. He is the reason they're gone," Hana said.

"We have to find them," Zuko said, regaining himself enough so that he could talk without slipping some foul words into his sentences.

"Hey, guys!" a voice shouted out towards the group. Everyone turned around to see Naruto and Ino running up to them.

"You," Zuko growled at Naruto as the boy jogged up to them.

The blonde boy furrowed his eyebrows at the older boy as Zuko decided to channel all his rage at him. Zuko grabbed Naruto by his black jacket and pushed him to the ground.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't been your stupid obnoxious self, the girls wouldn't be missing right now! Because of you, Nadare could do unimaginable things to them!" Zuko yelled in frustration.

Naruto scrambled to his feet and tried to put a bit of distance between himself and the angry senior. "Look Zuko, I'm sorry that I brought this on them. I'm sorry. But that's not important right now. What's important is that we find them. Ino told me that she saw Nadare take the girls away. They were gone for a whole class period, which means they could be anywhere by now."

"Ino told you that?" Kiba asked in surprise.

"Why would you help us?" Chouji asked as he turned to Ino. The blonde girl instantly blushed as everyone turned to her, wondering the same thing that Chouji had asked.

"We'll worry about that later," Shikamaru interrupted. "Right now, we have to find the girls."

"Let's split up," Sasuke said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru and Chouji went to check inside the school, just in case the Lightning Bulls decided to be sneaky and try to throw everyone off their tracks. Kiba and Shino went to the soccer field, which was on the north side of the school grounds. Sasuke and Sai went to the baseball field, which was on the east side of the school grounds. Zuko and Hana decided to check the parking lots. Lee and Neji headed toward the track, which was on the west side of the school grounds. Naruto and Ino went to the football field, which was on the south side of the school.

They all separated and ran at a rapid speed, hoping to find their friends.

* * *

"Holy crap, this is one big school," Ino panted as she and Naruto finally made it to the gates of the football field.

The school grounds were, indeed, rather large. All the fields seemed to be largely distanced apart. The actual school was in the middle, and the parking lots and sports fields required a bit of a walk. Ino now had her hands on her knees, trying to suck in deep gulps of oxygen.

"Maybe if you spent less time doing your hair and more time staying in shape, you wouldn't be so tired right now!" Naruto snapped impatiently as he trudged forward, leaving Ino to glare at the back of his head.

"Are you calling me fat?" Ino shrieked.

"Well, your name does mean boar, which is a type of pig," Naruto said, not bothering to turn around to look at the killer intent in the girl's eyes.

"You know, I would've thought you would be a little nicer to me! I didn't have to tell you about the Lightning Bulls kidnapping those three stupid wenches!" Ino screamed.

The whiskered boy immediately turned around and stomped over to her. He walked right up to her, and his blue eyes seemed immensely darker than usual. "Don't you ever, ever talk about those three like that again," he growled threateningly. "You pale in comparison to them, so don't talk like you know anything. You know nothing!"

Ino's face instantly grew into one of pure terror. She had never seen an angry Naruto up close before. It was rather intimidating. Actually, it was really terrifying. The normally hyper boy looked incredibly frightening when he was angry. His lips were pulled back into a snarl, and his teeth looked sharper than humanly possible. His whiskers seemed darker than usual, and any sign of friendliness was completely wiped off his face.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Naruto," Ino whispered. "I…I didn't mean to upset you like that."

The boy's expression slowly eased out of the ferocious snarl that had been plastered on his face. He looked down at the girl in front of him sadly. "Apology accepted."

Naruto turned away to continue walking, and Ino cautiously followed. The display of protectiveness she had just witnessed was still circulating through Ino's mind. She had never seen anyone stand up for another person like that. She didn't have friends who would do something like that for her. Actually, she didn't have friends…at all.

She didn't have any girlfriends because most of the girls in her grade were obsessed with Sasuke. And in her mind, anyone who was in love with Sasuke Uchiha was an arch rival. In addition, she didn't know many guys to hang around with. Since she only had eyes for Sasuke, her vision blocked out all other guys, even if they only wanted to be friends with her.

It suddenly hit her that she was alone. She didn't have people who would defend her like Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were trying to do for Shierra, Sakura, and Hinata. She was so focused on herself and her infatuation that she didn't attract other people to her.

Ino frowned to herself. Man, she was pathetic.

Naruto's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, Ino."

"Huh?"

"I want to thank you," the boy said without turning around.

Ino's eyebrows rose in astonishment. "What?"

"You were right when you said you didn't have to tell me about the Lightning Bulls," he said. "But you did anyway…so thank you." He turned around to look at her for the first time since he had yelled at her, and a big smile was stretched across his face. "You're not as bad as I took you for."

Ino was so taken aback. She was so surprised that she just had to smile back because Naruto's grin was that contagious. "Y-You're welcome."

"You know what? We were all wrong about you when we said you were a shallow vixen. Obviously, you're not that shallow," Naruto continued.

The girl's smile faltered for a moment before it turned into a frown. When what he said registered in her head, her eyebrows furrowed at him. "You guys say stuff like that about me?"

"Well, no offense or anything, but it's sort of hard not to talk about you when you practically visit us everyday to talk to Sasuke," the blonde boy answered.

Ino's eyes widened at this new bit of info. _"Great…"_ she thought to herself sadly. She hunched her shoulders in depression. _"I'm just a joke to Sasuke and his friends…"_

The two walked through the gates, which led to the side of the bleachers. As they walked, something in the center of the field caught their eyes.

"Duck!" Naruto hissed as he pulled Ino under the bleachers.

In the center of the football field were the Lightning Bulls. The gang of ten guys was standing in a circle around something. After looking closely, Naruto and Ino suddenly realized that the seniors were standing around the girls that everyone was searching for.

Shierra, Sakura, and Hinata were standing next to each other, their backs against the others', trying to stare down the older boys. But the Lightning Bulls were only snickering at the bravery the girls were trying to show.

"Ino, text someone and tell them to hurry over here," Naruto ordered, not taking his eyes off of Nadare.

"Why can't you do it?" Ino countered.

"Because my phone died this morning. It's at home charging," the whiskered boy said. "Just get on the phone and tell the others to get over here!"

"Um…that might not work out…" Ino said nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't…have any of their numbers…" the girl replied sheepishly.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled loudly.

Ino slapped her hand over the boy's mouth and shushed him. The two glanced out toward the seniors; luckily, no one had heard Naruto's loud outburst. Deeming it safe, the girl removed her hand from Naruto's mouth.

"What do you mean you don't have anyone's numbers?" Naruto hissed.

"I mean exactly what I said!" Ino murmured.

"I thought you would at least have Sasuke's!" Naruto said. "You mean you didn't stalk him down and steal his cell number?"

Ino raised an eyebrow at him.

Naruto nodded. "Right. Never mind. If you had his number, I would still be hearing him complain about how you're constantly texting and calling him. Then he'd say he needs to change his number."

The blonde girl glared at him. She shook her head to clear the clobbering intent that was filling her mind at the moment. "Alright, so what do we do then?" she asked.

Naruto stared at the Lightning Bulls, almost as if an idea would appear in the spot where they were standing. After a few moments, he came up with a plan. "Ino, you have to go back and try to find someone. They'll text the others, and then you can all come back here to back me up to save the girls."

"What will you do?" Ino asked cautiously.

"That's not important," Naruto replied mysteriously. "Just do as I say. Hurry and find the others."

Ino looked at the boy beside her uncertainly. "Okay…" she muttered hesitantly. She took a step back to leave, but then she turned back to look at him. "Naruto…" He turned around to look at her. "Please…don't do anything stupid."

Naruto flashed Ino his signature fox grin. "Ino, do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Yeah…that's why I said don't do anything stupid," she answered.

"Just go," he ordered. She watched him for another moment before she turned on her heel and ran off back towards the school.

After watching her go, Naruto turned back to look at the Lightning Bulls. She had told him to not do anything stupid… honestly though, his friends told him that all the time. And he never listened to them. No offense to Ino or anything, but if he didn't listen to his friends, there was no way in hell he was going to listen to her.

He stealthily removed himself from behind the bleachers and snuck out towards the football field. Since there was nothing to cover him, he was now an open target. Rather than continuing to try to hide, he decided to hold himself with dignity. He stood tall as he walked towards the Lightning Bulls.

The seniors immediately noticed him as he walked over to them. When Nadare saw him, he smirked in a malicious manner. "Well, well…if it isn't Fishcake…"

The girls turned their heads to look at him, and they instantly grew hopeful. "Naruto!" they all shouted in unison.

The thugs quickly grabbed the girls and roughly pulled their arms behind their backs. "Hey! Watch it, buster!" Shierra yelled as she tried to kick the boy behind her.

"You had best be nice or else I'll have to break these arms of yours," Shierra's captor hissed.

"Don't touch her!" Naruto yelled. "Don't touch any of them."

"Oh, so you're going to play tough guy again, are you?" Nadare asked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to show how superior he was over the freshman. "Just show us how tough you are, Fishcake."

"If it's another beating session you want, I'll gladly give it to you," Naruto countered.

"Just try it," Nadare smirked.

The whiskered boy ran at the gang leader. He raised his fist, ready to punch him in the face. But just as he neared Nadare, the man holding Hinata squeezed her shoulder harshly, causing her to scream out in pain. Naruto skidded to a stop, and he stared worriedly at the fragile brunette.

Nadare's smirk grew into one of pure malevolence. He nodded his head to his gang, and the ones not holding the three girls ran over to the blonde freshman. Naruto suddenly realized that he was at a giant disadvantage. If he fought back, his friends would get hurt. But if he didn't do anything, then-

He was brought out of his thoughts by a punch to his left cheek. He stumbled to the side but caught himself before he fell. He looked around and suddenly noticed that he was surrounded by six guys.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Shierra yelled in concern.

"Hehe, don't worry about me, Shierra," Naruto said as he rubbed his now sore cheek.

"Naruto, don't take that from these punks! Fight back!" Sakura ordered.

"Shut up, wench," the man holding the pink-haired girl said as he placed his hand roughly over her mouth. Sakura bit his fingers in response. "Ouch! She bit me!"

The girl spit into the ground. "Ew, gross. That was gross," she said, referring to the fact that she had just sunk her teeth into the guy's disgusting skin.

"You little brat!" the guy yelled. He wrapped his arm around her neck, cutting off her air supply.

"No, stop!" Naruto yelled out.

The six guys encircling him chose that moment to pounce on him. Three punched him in the gut while the other three pushed and kicked him to the ground. Naruto used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth; his lip was bleeding now. From his position in the dirt, the blonde glanced up to see the senior release his choke hold on Sakura. But he continued to hold her shoulders ruthlessly, causing pain to shoot down her arms.

"I assume you know how this is going to work out," Nadare said as he stepped over to kneel in front of Naruto's face. "As long as you don't fight back, the girls will be fine."

Naruto glared at Nadare. If looks could kill, the older boy would be dead in a millisecond. But glancing over Nadare's shoulder, Naruto could see the three girls being held forcefully by the goons. Shierra was attempting to pull herself free, but she was actually close to dislocating her shoulders by squirming so much. Sakura was attempting to kick her captor in the knees to make him collapse, but he just continued to squeeze her arms, making them go numb. Hinata wiggled a little, but her small form did little against the big bulky senior.

The freshman boy's face instantly fell. He really wasn't in any position to fight back. All he could do was hope that Ino found the other guys and brought them here soon. But it was such a big school… it could take forever for her to find them.

Naruto didn't have time to dwell on it as someone was pulling him by his collar, forcing him to stand up. As soon as he found his footing, he was delivered another blow to his gut, causing him to stumble backwards. Then someone punched him in the back of the head.

The whiskered boy nearly passed out at that point. His vision was filled with black spots, and his balance was terribly off. He had to struggle just to stand up straight. He reached his arm out to try and grasp something to help steady himself. But of course, there was nothing in the middle of the football field except for the Lightning Bulls, the three girls, and himself.

One guy grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back, nearly pulling it from its socket. Naruto hissed in pain.

"Naruto!" Hinata screamed in terror. She watched painfully as he was being delivered the most terrible beating any one of them had ever witnessed.

"Fight back, you idiot!" Sakura yelled, trying to knock some sense into him. But she knew it was useless as he ignored her. He was trying to save them from getting hurt. But as a result, he was being beaten to a pulp.

"C'mon, Naruto! I know you can take these guys on! Don't just stand there!" Shierra shrieked in a worried panic.

Naruto continued to ignore the cries of his friends. He didn't even look at them. He didn't want to see the fear and pain in their eyes. He would do whatever it took to save them. And if they didn't approve of his methods, then so be it. But he would be damned if he let anyone continue to hurt his friends. If that meant that he could take their pain for them, then he would do this a thousand more times.

The one holding Naruto's arm behind him shoved him forward. The freshman didn't even get a chance to regain his balance before someone brought their leg up and kicked him in the side, pushing him back down to the ground. Naruto landed roughly on his left side, right on his ribs.

"Stand up," Nadare ordered as he walked over to stand in front of the fallen boy. Naruto ignored him. "I said stand up. Or do you want those pretty little girls to have their arms ripped off?"

The blonde stiffened at that last sentence. He slowly dragged his body together and pulled himself up so that he stood, shakily, in front of the leader of the Lightning Bulls.

Nadare smirked. He slowly walked around Naruto's unsteady form. He sneered at the beaten boy scornfully. Naruto's now black and swollen eyes carefully followed the older boy as Nadare continued to circle around him like a lion ready to kill its prey.

"Look at yourself now, Fishcake," Nadare mocked. "All bruised and battered… do you now know where your place is?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"I asked you a question," Nadare growled. "Do you know where your place is?"

Still, there was no reply.

The senior grabbed the collar of Naruto's black jacket, dragging him closer to him. "Answer the question before your friends pay the price. Do you know where your place is?"

Naruto took a deep breath to steady his nerves. This part was humiliating. Nadare was trying to taunt him. But the blonde really didn't have another option at this point.

"No," Naruto answered simply.

"Wrong answer," Nadare snarled angrily.

He pulled his fist back and punched him just beneath the chin, causing Naruto to nearly be lifted off the ground from the impact. Then Nadare kneed the younger boy in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground in a heap.

Naruto's vision was almost completely gone at this point. Not only was he seeing black spots, but now his eyes were so badly swollen that they were barely able to open. He started coughing vigorously, and he brought his hand up to his mouth to calm it down. He pulled his hand back, and he inwardly flinched.

Blood was covering his hand.

He was coughing up blood.

This wasn't good. This was really not good.

He placed his blood-soaked hand in the ground, staining the green grass. He suddenly felt someone pull him back up by the collar again, and his puffy eyes met Nadare's deep scowl.

"Do you know where your place is now?" Nadare asked.

Naruto couldn't even find his voice. His throat was so sore from the coughing. His body was so weak and beaten that he barely had enough strength to even nod.

Nadare was not happy with not being answered to again. "Answer the question!"

The blonde slowly nodded his head, causing a shooting pain to fly up his neck and into his cranium. If he could move his hands, he would be grasping his head. But he couldn't, so he was forced to deal with the suffering.

"Say it out loud!" Nadare yelled.

Naruto took a slow intake of breath, trying to find enough strength to speak. "Yes…"

"Yes, what?" the senior asked harshly.

The blonde was about to fall over from the dizziness in his head. He forced himself to stay standing as he spoke. "Yes…I know where my place is."

"You had better!" Nadare shouted.

The senior jabbed his knee into Naruto's chest, and more blood leaked from his mouth. The blonde freshman clutched his chest. His lungs were screaming in protest, trying to tell him to stop being an idiot. He refused to listen to his body. His brain was shouting at him to turn around and run and call 911 or something. He refused to listen to his brain. The only thing that was keeping him there was his pure, stubborn will. And that was enough to override all his other senses.

Nadare kneed his victim in the chest a second time, and when Naruto was hunched over in pain, Nadare proceeded to bring his elbow down on the back of his head. For who knows how many times, Naruto fell to the ground.

Sobs racked Hinata's body as she watched this horror. She looked away, unable to bear to watch any longer. Sakura sniffled, wishing she could look away. But something compelled her to watch; maybe it was her heart telling her to watch him, hoping that he would stand up and pummel all these guys to the ground. Shierra was numb inside. Unshed tears pricked her eyes, but they wouldn't drop. Her best friend was being beaten to near death, and she couldn't help him… it was killing her inside.

"Your place is right where you are now," Nadare said with a disgusting sneer. "You belong at my feet, crumpled and beaten into a worthless pile of shit. Because that is what you are, and that is what you will always be."

"Shut up!" a voice screamed. Nadare turned around to see Shierra glaring at him, tears staining her cheeks. "Shut your mouth, you worthless sack of nothing! Naruto is twice the man you will ever be! It's disgusting and repulsive how you think you're so superior. If this is how you show your worth, then I hope you rot in a prison cell for the rest of your pathetic life!"

The senior narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. He slowly stormed over to her. With each step he took, a knife of fear was stuck into the girl's being. But she refused to show any trepidation. If Naruto could stand up like how he had just done, then she would do the same.

Nadare was now standing directly in front of Shierra. "Do you want to say that again, brat?"

Shierra took a sharp intake of breath. There were so many things running through her brain at that moment, telling her what to do. Curse him out, kick him between the legs…there were so many different things that she thought of doing. But none of them seemed good enough.

So she chose to spit in his face.

Nadare was so shocked that he took a step back as he flinched. He brought a hand up and wiped the saliva off his face. When he opened his eyes to look at her, they were full of malice and danger.

"You're going to pay for that," he snarled.

He reached his arm back, ready to slap her across the face with the back of his hand. Shierra closed her eyes, ready for the beating.

"Shierra…" Naruto whispered as he looked up at the scene. He wished he could force his body up, but it was no use. He couldn't move at all.

The sound of flesh being slapped reached everyone's ears.

But it wasn't Shierra's cheek.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes a fraction. At the sight in front of her, she let her eyes open all the way.

Nadare was on the ground, and he was rubbing his now bruised jaw.

Shierra looked to her right. Sasuke was standing beside her, his arm outstretched from his punch to Nadare. When he noticed that Shierra was gawking at him, he flashed her the famous Uchiha smirk.

Then the raven-haired girl felt her captor stiffen behind her. She glanced behind her and smiled in relief. Her brother had his arm in a choke hold around the thug.

"Let my sister go," Zuko ordered. The guy instantly did as he was told, and then Zuko proceeded to knock him unconscious with a blow to the back of the neck.

Shierra glanced around, and her smile widened. Everyone was there. Kiba had punched Sakura's captor out cold, and Neji had hit a series of pressure points to leave Hinata's holder in immense pain.

Lee, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino were taking care of the rest of the gang while Sasuke continued to glare down at Nadare. It appeared that the new arrivals had surprised the Lightning Bulls so much that the gang of seniors was losing terribly. They were all knocked down to the ground in seconds.

Nadare, however, refused to go down without a fight. "I will not lose to a bunch of brats!"

"Give it up, Yama," Zuko snarled. "You don't have your gang to back you up now."

"I don't need them! I don't need anyone! I run this school!" Nadare roared loudly.

"It's over," Sasuke growled fiercely at the Lightning Bull leader.

Nadare glanced around frantically. He was surrounded by all the other guys. All the boys who had come to rescue the kidnapped girls were staring at Nadare fiercely, ready to tear him apart.

"Can I please rip his face apart?" Kiba asked.

"Go for it," Zuko replied.

Immediately, Kiba, Lee, and Neji ran in and delivered the final blows. Kiba kneed Nadare in the gut, Lee karate chopped him in the back, and Neji elbowed him in the back of the neck. The leader of the gang fell to the ground. Blood started seeping from his nose, and he quickly grabbed his nose to stop the bleeding. His attempt to stop the blood flow did little.

Sakura stomped over to the boy's fallen body. The senior looked up at the fuming pinkette. She glared down at him before she brought her foot up and stepped forcefully on his head, pushing it into the dirt. Nadare moaned in pain before the aching finally took over his body, and he fell unconscious, along with the rest of his gang.

Everyone stared at Sakura, eyebrows raised. The pink-haired girl shrunk a bit when she noticed that all eyes were on her. "What? Shierra got to spit in his face… I wanted to have my turn…" Smiles broke out at her words. "Hinata, you want to have a turn?"

"Um…n-n-no t-t-thank y-you," the brunette stammered nervously as she looked at the unconscious Nadare.

"Are you all alright?" Hana asked the three girls.

"We're fine," Shierra said dismissively. Her arms were a little stiff, but they could wait. Ignoring everyone, she ran over to Naruto's side. She kneeled beside him and gently nudged his shoulder. "Naruto? Can you hear me?"

Sakura and Hinata joined Shierra and kneeled down to see their savior. "Hey, Naruto? Are you alright?" Sakura asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"N-N-Naruto?" Hinata stuttered quietly.

The blonde slowly opened his eyes to look up at the three girls. When he saw them there, looking at him with concern, he smiled. "Hey, ladies."

"Idiot! Do you have any idea how much I was worried about you?" Sakura screamed at him.

"Sakura, you know me. When have I ever made you think things wouldn't work out alright?" Naruto asked in an amused tone.

"Right then, I thought you were going to die! You're such an idiot!" Sakura shrieked angrily. And then she frowned as tears started to spill out of her eyes. "You idiot…" she whispered before she reached down and hugged him.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Naruto hissed.

The green-eyed girl instantly backed away. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"Nah, don't worry. It's the good kind of pain. C'mon girls, I need a hug from all of you!" Naruto smiled as he struggled to open his arms in a welcoming gesture.

Shierra and Sakura beamed down at him and gently pulled him up so that he was in a sitting position. Then they hugged him tightly. Hinata just smiled as she watched.

"No, no, no, Hinata! You have to get in on this too!" Naruto said happily. The pale girl's face instantly grew hot as she blushed madly at the idea of her hugging her crush. But she didn't have a chance to refuse as Naruto pulled her in, and she and the other two girls were hugging Naruto closely, happy that he was alright.

"That is one lucky dude, right there," Kiba said, shaking his head as he watched Naruto hug all three girls at the same time. The other guys nodded at that remark.

Sasuke walked over to stand in front of Naruto. The girls let go of the blonde, and he looked up at the raven-haired boy. The Uchiha was staring down at him, expressionless as always.

Then Sasuke let a small smile grace his lips. "You did good, Naruto," he said as he held a hand out to his friend.

The whiskered boy smiled. Even through all the cuts, the bruises, and the pain, his brightening smile lightened everyone's mood. "Thanks, Sasuke." He took the outstretched hand, and Sasuke pulled his best friend to his feet. He put Naruto's arm around his shoulder, letting him lean on the Uchiha.

"Good job, Naruto!"

"That was reckless, but you did it!"

"You're the man, Naruto!"

The others proceeded to praise Naruto for his brave yet irresponsible idea. But since he was able to help prevent pain from being inflicted on his friends, everyone couldn't help but admire him.

Ino watched from the side. Even though she had told everyone about the kidnapped girls, and everyone had seemed to accept her when it came to looking for them, she still felt that she didn't belong here. They weren't her friends. She didn't want to intrude on this moment, where everyone was happy to be together. The friendships in the group were so strong, and Ino felt that it wouldn't be right to impose.

Even through the giant crowd that was surrounding him, Naruto could see Ino, standing off to the side. He looked at Sasuke, who was still holding his arm around his shoulders. "Sasuke," he said, getting the other boy's attention. The Uchiha looked up, and when Naruto's swollen eyes glanced over in the blonde girl's direction, Sasuke nodded.

The raven-haired boy helped Naruto walk over to Ino, and she was stunned when she realized they were coming over to her. The other members of the group watched as Naruto flashed a giant beaming smile at her.

"Ino…thanks for everything. You're really a good person," Naruto said. "If it wasn't for you, things might not have turned out like they did just now. We owe you a lot. So thanks."

Ino was so shocked that she couldn't even find her voice. She glanced around at the group of people. Everyone was staring at her, but instead of giving her glares like they usually did, they were smiling at her, much like Naruto was. They were all appreciative of her display of assistance.

Hinata smiled sweetly at her, glad to know that there was a caring person inside Ino. Sakura grinned at her, showing her acceptance of her. Shierra smiled comfortingly at her, showing her that they all were grateful to her. And all the others were giving her accepting grins and nods, telling her that they agreed with Naruto's words.

"You know, if you want, you can sit with us at lunch anytime," Naruto offered kindly.

Ino's eyebrows rose in astonishment. She glanced at the others to see if they disagreed, and they didn't. She politely returned Naruto's smile. "Sure. Thanks…Naruto."

The whiskered boy grinned cheekily at her. Then he turned to look at the others. "Well, I think it's time that we head out. Tsunade is probably still really mad that I left detention."

"Well, after she finds out about this, I don't think she'll care so much about your ditching detention," Shikamaru said.

"Only one way to find out," Chouji said with a shrug.

And with that, the group turned and left the football field behind. The Lightning Bulls were left there, fallen and unconscious.

Sasuke and Sai were helping Naruto walk, his arms around their shoulders as they supported his weight.

Neji had his arm protectively around Hinata's shoulders; even after knowing that she was fine, he was too worried to let her alone. Hinata smiled warmly at her cousin's behavior.

Zuko was the same way. He had his arm affectionately wrapped around Shierra's form. The girl lightly punched his stomach, trying to convince him that he didn't have to hold her, but she enjoyed the hug anyway.

Hana ruffled Kiba's hair, praising and telling him how impressed she was with his display of strength when he had help take down Nadare and his gang.

Lee was running ahead, jumping up and down and cheering about how the power of youth had helped them to defeat evil.

Shikamaru and Chouji were walking side by side, glad to have this whole ordeal finished with. While Shikamaru was muttering about how troublesome that had been, Chouji knew that his friend was happy to see that everyone was safe and together again.

Ino walked beside Sakura. The blonde glanced at the pink-haired girl before speaking what was on her mind. "How can you guys accept me so easily?" Ino asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"Sakura asked in confusion.

"I mean…I've never been nice to any of you. How can you accept me into your group after all the terrible things I've said to you guys?" Ino asked, not daring to look at Sakura, for fear that she would yell at her.

"Well, after being friends with all these guys for so long, I've learned a little something about friendship," Sakura said as she glanced at her group of friends. "It's not about what you say… it's about the actions that you take."

Ino looked up at the pinkette, and the two girls locked eyes.

"We all have our differences. Sometimes, we get along great. Other times, we argue and say stuff we don't mean. And that's okay. Friendships aren't defined by what we say. They're defined by the measures we take to keep those friendships in tact," Sakura explained. "When you came to help us, that move triumphed over everything else that you have ever said to us. That's why we accept you."

Ino smiled. "Wow…thanks…You guys…are really something."

Sakura smiled back. "We look out for each other. There's really nothing more to it than that."

As the group of kids headed back towards the school, they conversed and joked about random things. It had been such a long day, and everyone couldn't wait to go home and rest. It had certainly been a very eventful day. For the freshmen, they could only imagine what the rest of their high school days would feel like. Then, the same thought entered everyone's minds. The first day of school was finally over. One down, 179 more days to go…


	6. To The Mall!

"Um… I-Ino? I-I-I don't think this i-is a g-g-good idea…" Hinata stuttered nervously.

"Oh, stop worrying! You look fantastic!" Ino said with a wave of her hand. She proceeded to pull a brush through Hinata's long hair.

"Ino! If Hinata doesn't want to do this, then don't make her!" Shierra scolded, trying to make her way over to where the pale-eyed girl was quivering as she sat in a swivel chair.

"It's going to be fine! In fact, it's going to be great! Just calm down, Ner-" Ino didn't finish her statement as a certain pinkette glared her emerald eyes at the blonde.

It was then that Ino suddenly remembered some advice that Sakura had given her upon entering the gang. There were certain things that only these really good friends could say or do to each other. And considering Ino was a newbie to the group, she didn't get those privileges just yet.

Sakura's voice echoed in her head. _"Rule #1: You are not allowed to insult Shierra's smarts. Considering you used to use it as a means to bully her, you have to wait a while before she's okay with you teasing her about it."_

"What was that you were going to say, Ino?" Shierra asked in an accusing tone. It almost seemed as if she was daring Ino to insult her.

"Um… yeah, as I was saying. My idea is totally going to help Hinata win Naruto's heart. And by doing that, she'll be getting him out of your hair!" Ino said, grinning at Shierra.

The other girl was about to retort before someone cut her off. "Y-Y-You know a-about m-m-my c-crush!" Hinata squeaked loudly.

"Duh! It was kind of hard not to notice it," Ino laughed. "I've been hanging out with you guys for two weeks, and you really think I wouldn't have picked up on something like that? You totally blush every time he looks at you. And you stutter even worse when you're around him."

Hinata turned pink in the face. Was it really that obvious that she liked Naruto? Because if it was… how the heck had Naruto never noticed?

"Hey, don't worry about it," Ino added sympathetically. "With this new look, you're gonna catch the eyes of not only Naruto, but every guy in the mall."

Hinata blushed even redder at the thought of all the guys in the gigantic mall staring at her.

"Well Ino, could you possibly hurry it up?" Sakura asked in an annoyed manner. "We're supposed to meet the guys at the mall in half an hour. And with Hinata's cousin actually driving the speed limit, it'll take twenty minutes to get there. Plus parking and all that…"

"Eh, the guys can wait. We can be fashionably late," Ino said with a flick of her long blonde hair. The blonde girl picked up a tube of lipstick and applied it to Hinata's soft lips. "And… there you go! You look so pretty, Hinata!" Ino squealed happily.

Hinata turned the swivel chair around to look at herself in the mirror. She inhaled quickly in surprise. Ino had pulled her hair up into a half-ponytail with the rest hanging down passed her shoulders. The outfit the blonde had chosen for her consisted of dark blue tight-fitting jeans and a lavender cardigan over a white camisole. And her face… for the first time since Hinata could remember, she was wearing makeup. She had a soft pink color of lipstick on, and there was some blush on her cheeks.

The girl was stunned. She never thought she could look so… pretty. She could hardly believe it when her friends started complimenting her.

"Wow! Ino was right! You look amazing!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah. And if Naruto is too stupid to not give you the time of day, there are a lot of guys who would be begging for your attention," Shierra smiled.

Hinata blushed slightly, but she smiled at her supportive friends. "T-Thank you, a-all."

"Alright, let's head on out," Sakura said.

The pink-haired girl slipped her black knee-length boots back on. She was wearing a red T-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. Shierra proceeded to place her light blue jacket over her white T-shirt and put her black ballet flats back on. Ino was wearing a purple flowing blouse with black leggings and black boots.

The four girls left Hinata's bedroom and descended the stairs. Neji was waiting for them in the living room.

"May I ask what could possibly take you girls so long?" Neji asked as he stood up from his seat on the couch.

"No, you may not ask," Shierra replied. The boy raised an eyebrow at her comment, and she smirked in response. "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"Anyway, I guess we can proceed," Neji said, turning away to the front door.

He held the door open for the girls, and they all piled into Neji's Volvo. Sakura was right when she said that he would be driving exactly the speed limit. He didn't go any faster or slower than the designated limit. It took twenty-two minutes to get to Konoha Mall's parking lot, and since it was around lunchtime, the place was very crowded. Once Neji found a parking spot, the group headed inside.

Neji turned to look at his younger cousin. "I'm going to be with Tenten and Lee. We'll be having lunch at the sushi restaurant before we meet up with you guys later. If you need me, just text or call, and I'll be right over."

"Don't worry, Neji. We'll be fine," Hinata smiled kindly.

Her cousin had been so overly protective since Nadare had kidnapped her and the other two girls just two weeks ago. And considering he had been overprotective before, this was taking it to a whole other level. In a way, Hinata thought it was sweet, but it was also a little suffocating.

"Alright. Take care, ladies," Neji said as he turned to walk away. Then he stopped before he looked at Hinata again. "Oh, and if that Uzumaki brat tries any funny business with you, call me immediately." Then he walked away to meet his two friends at their favorite restaurant.

Hinata stammered as she thought about what Neji had said. "He… he knows t-t-too!" the poor girl exclaimed. Did literally everyone know about her crush on Naruto? If so… again, why the heck hadn't he figured it out?

"It's like I said. It's really obvious," Ino shrugged.

"We'll worry about boy troubles later. Right now, we have to go meet the guys," Shierra said.

The four girls continued onward, toward their group's favorite mall spot. Ichiraku Ramen. It was actually more of Naruto's favorite place, considering he had a weird and unhealthy obsession with ramen. But it was a very friendly atmosphere, and it was perfect for just hanging around.

After rounding a few corners of the giant mall, the four girls finally spotted the small restaurant. In bright red lettering, the words 'Ichiraku Ramen' sat on top of the designated spot for the restaurant. A few tables were spread out amongst the area in front of the restaurant for any ramen eaters, or people could choose to eat inside the eatery.

A small group of guys could be seen sitting at a table outside of the restaurant. The girls instantly recognized the group as their friends. When all the boys spotted the girls, they either smiled or smirked. Naruto, being the unique child that he is, decided to choose a different approach to his welcoming of the girls.

He stood up so fast that his chair fell and clattered against the ground, creating a loud metallic clang. He ignored it and ran over to greet the girls. And he ran pretty fast.

"_For someone who got the crap beaten out of him just two weeks ago, he moves like he's running a marathon,"_ Sakura thought to herself as she raised an eyebrow at her blonde friend.

Indeed, when Naruto had gotten into a fight with Nadare, he had been injured pretty badly. The doctors had said that he had a concussion from to many blows to the head. His organs were lucky to be functioning because he was, if not pretty close to, internally bleeding. The hospital had estimated that he would be staying for at least three weeks.

But by some weird miracle, Naruto had left the hospital in a week. And he was perfectly fine when he left. The doctors couldn't believe it, and his friends had just passed it off as one of his weird mutant moments. Again, they were still investigating if he had been exposed to any toxic chemicals as a newborn.

"Hi, girls!" Naruto exclaimed as he skidded to a stop in front of the four females.

"Hi, Naruto," Sakura greeted.

"Hello," Shierra said.

"What's up?" Ino asked.

"Eh, not much," Naruto shrugged. As he looked at the girls, his eyes rested on the other brunette of the group. His eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head at her in confusion. "Who's she?" he pointed to Hinata. "I thought you girls were coming with Hinata."

Hinata's mouth fell open in quiet astonishment. Her own crush didn't even recognize her. She knew she shouldn't have let Ino give her a makeover. Hinata was completely speechless, as were the other girls.

Ino gawked at the blonde boy. Naruto was really sweet a lot of the time. She had learned first hand that his personality was 80% friendliness. But he was obviously also really dumb. Seriously… really? How could he not recognize the Hyuuga?

Shierra proceeded to lightly pound her fist against her forehead. After the tenth time of that, she placed her hand over her mouth to keep herself from yelling loudly and causing a scene in the middle of the mall.

Sakura, however, didn't care about causing a scene. She reached out and grabbed on Naruto's ear in a ferocious manner. "What are you talking about, you idiot?"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Naruto yelled in pain. "Sakura! Pain! In my ear! Please stop! Mercy! Uncle! Someone help me! Sakura, what did I do?"

"She is Hinata!" Sakura screamed.

"What?" Naruto wasn't really paying attention to what the pinkette was saying. He quickly pulled his ear out of Sakura's death grip and put both hands over it to protect it from any future pain. Then what Sakura said registered in his head. He looked at the brunette and pointed at her. "Wait… you are Hinata?"

She slowly nodded her head with sad eyes staring at her love.

"Oh…" Naruto replied, a bit in embarrassment as he stared at the girl.

She definitely did not look like Hinata Hyuuga. Normally, she would wear a jacket or a hooded sweatshirt. Instead, she was wearing a lavender cardigan with a white camisole that showed off her upper body curves. And the colors complimented her eyes nicely. Plus, instead of wearing normal loose-fitting jeans, she was wearing waist-hugging jeans. And since when did Hinata wear makeup? Naruto was pretty sure she never wore makeup before.

Naruto didn't mean to be shallow, but he couldn't help it. Any other guy would think the same thing. _"Holy crap… she's totally hot!"_

Hinata started to feel nervous under Naruto's gaze as he stared at her. Sakura shook her head in exasperation. She whacked him upside the head. The plan was to get Naruto to notice Hinata, not mentally imagine some very vulgar and hormonal teenage boy thoughts.

"Ow!" Naruto said, his hand flying to gently caress his head. "What?"

"Let's just go eat," Shierra cut Sakura off before the pink-haired girl could lose her temper and get them thrown out of the building for disrupting the peace.

"Right on! Ramen, Big Daddy Naruto's coming for you!" the blonde exclaimed happily as he quickly ran over to where the rest of the group was sitting.

The other guys had witnessed the whole scene between Naruto and Hinata. They smirked at the blonde as he sat down at the table.

"Way to keep your cool, Naruto," Kiba teased from across the table.

"Shut up, Kiba. It just caught me off guard. You know I still love Shierra," Naruto hissed quietly before the girls could reach them.

"Yeah, sad thing is that she doesn't love you back," Shikamaru said lazily with his eyes closed as he rested his head against the back of the chair.

"Or at least not in the way you want," Shino added.

"Yeah, Shierra did always say that she only thinks of you like a brother," Chouji said.

"That's what you all think! She just hasn't realized that she likes me more than a friend," Naruto said stubbornly.

"Keep telling yourself that, dope," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

Naruto was about to retort when the girls finally made their over to the tables. He quickly changed his facial expression to a full grin. "So, how are all you ladies?"

"We're fine, thanks for asking," Shierra replied sweetly.

Ino spotted Sasuke sitting on the table, with that same expressionless face etched on his features. The girl almost melted right then and there. _"He is so hot!"_

She was going to skip over to him to flirt, but something in her mind stopped her. It was Sakura's voice echoing in her head for the second time that day. There was another rule that she had to follow.

"_Rule #2: Do not throw yourself at Sasuke. I speak from experience. He doesn't respond to fan girls, which is why he never talked to you when you used to stalk him. But now that you're apart of the group, you have to be wary of showing your feelings around him. It'll take time, but he'll talk to you if you're not swooning over him."_

When Sakura had told Ino that, the blonde had accused her of saying that so that the pink-haired girl could have Sasuke all to herself. It had taken a lot to convince Ino that that was how things worked, even though it logically made sense.

But she still didn't like it. _"Geez… why does this group have so many rules?"_ Ino thought angrily to herself.

"So, what do you girls want to eat? We all ordered already while we were waiting."

"Oh, I'm on a diet. Ramen is too fattening," Ino said.

"It is not fattening! It is the healthiest and most delicious food on earth!" Naruto yelled, appalled at Ino's words.

"Right, sure…" Ino said sarcastically. "I'll just have a salad or something."

"Beef ramen for me," Shierra said.

"I'll have chicken flavored," Hinata said.

"Shrimp flavored, please," Sakura said.

"Okay. I'll go get the orders," Naruto said as he stood up.

"Perhaps someone should go with you," Sai said. "Eleven orders is a lot to carry."

"I am perfectly capable of doing it myself, Sai!" Naruto yelled impatiently.

"Yeah, let him go. I'd like to watch Naruto make a fool of himself when he drops everything," Kiba snickered as Naruto shot him a death glare.

"Now why would you say that?" Shierra asked. "If he breaks everything, it comes out of our wallets."

"True," Sakura nodded.

"Naruto, just swallow your pride and take someone with you," Sasuke said in annoyance.

"Swallow my pride? Like you're one to talk," Naruto shot back.

"I-I-I'll g-g-go with y-y-you," Hinata said, a slight blush creeping its way up her cheeks.

"Uh… alright," Naruto agreed. The two stood up and walked over to the counter to tell old man Teuchi the group's orders.

Once the two were out of earshot, the remaining guys turned around to stare at the girls. "Alright, spill it," Sasuke ordered.

"What?" Shierra asked.

"What's up with Hinata's makeover?" Shikamaru asked. He stared right at Ino, knowing that it was all her idea.

"Well, I just thought that she needed a confidence booster," Ino shrugged. "Obviously, my plan worked."

"What exactly was the plan?" Sai asked.

"To get Naruto to notice Hinata for once," Shierra said.

"And it totally worked. Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of her," Ino said, looking at her nails in a triumphant manner.

"Not bad, Ino," Shikamaru smirked.

"Yeah, that was pretty good," Chouji remarked.

Ino smiled in return at their praise. Out of all the guys in the group, Shikamaru and Chouji seemed to welcome her more. Not that the other guys hated her or anything; Ino just found it relatively easy to get along with these two particular guys. Of course, it might have been just because Shikamaru is too lazy to hold any form of grudge. And Chouji seemed to have a little bit of a crush on her.

But Ino was willing to take what she could get. As long as no one tried to destroy her, she was happy. And Shikamaru and Chouji weren't that bad of guys to be around.

"So what do you think? What are the chances of Naruto falling for Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Do you want me to lie or do you want the truth?" Sasuke asked.

The pink-haired girl stared at her friend for a few moments, debating what kind of answer she wanted, before she spoke. "Lie," she ordered.

"Then in that case, Naruto is going to fall head over heels in love with the girl," Sasuke said seriously.

"What's the truth?" Shierra asked.

"Naruto is going to think about what it would be like to date Hinata, and after a few days, he'll get over it and go back to fawning over you," Sasuke said, staring at Shierra.

"Aw, crud," the girl muttered.

"How do you know that?" Ino asked accusingly. She was very upset at the prospect of her plan not working. The effect of today's little scene was supposed to result in Naruto liking Hinata. If that didn't happen, that would mean Ino failed. And when it came to stuff like this, Ino did not fail.

"Before you girls came over, Naruto confessed his love for Shierra in front of us. And this is after he saw Hinata looking like _that_," Sasuke said, emphasizing the last word to stress the fact that any guy would find Hinata attractive if she looked like that everyday.

"Oh, phooey," Shierra mumbled. "I do care about Naruto and all; he's like another brother to me-"

"Which is what we told him," Kiba added.

"Right! So I don't understand why he can't get the hint!" Shierra exclaimed.

"What you gotta do is let him down hard so that it'll get through that thick head of his," Shikamaru said.

"Oh… but that would be mean," Shierra said uncertainly. "I don't want to hurt him… He is my friend."

"That means that we have to get Naruto to fall for Hinata so he can get over Shierra," Sakura said. "I mean, everyone knows those two would be adorable together."

"Alright then!" Ino exclaimed happily. "Operation Bring Naruto and Hinata Together To Make Them The Cutest Couple Ever is now a group project! We're gonna have to work together if we want to bring those two lovebirds together!"

"Excuse me?" Shikamaru asked. Did she just say that they would have to do work?

"C'mon, Shikamaru!" Ino pleaded.

"No. I thought it was a good plan when you girls were doing the work. Why do you have to get everyone involved?" Shikamaru asked.

"We need you because you're super smart," Ino said with puppy dog eyes. "And besides, you know you want those two together." She pouted her lip at him and increased the puppy dog eyes to an even high level of cuteness.

Shikamaru glared at her. After a few moments he relented. "Fine," he sighed.

Ino jumped up in glee. "Thank you so much, Shikamaru!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered. "It's too troublesome to say no anyway."

"How about the rest of you? Are you all in?" Sakura asked.

"Heck yeah!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Sure," Shino nodded.

"Why not?" Chouji shrugged.

"I am also in," Sai said.

Sasuke just sat there, not saying anything. Shierra looked over at him and gently nudged him with her elbow. "What's the matter, Sasuke? Don't want to be part of the fun?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"Don't you 'Hn' me! Answer the question," Shierra ordered. "Are you in or out?"

He turned to look at her with his onyx eyes. Then he smirked at her. "In."

"Good," Shierra smiled.

"Okay, we've all agreed on the mission," Sakura said.

"Do whatever it takes to get those two to start going out with each other," Ino added.

"We should keep in touch via cell phone when it comes to any spontaneous planning," Shierra remarked. "We'll all have to be up to date with anything and everything that goes on between those two."

"Shierra, are you just saying all this because you want Naruto off your back?" Kiba asked suspiciously with a smirk.

She smirked back at him. "No. As I stated earlier, I care about Naruto. But I also care about Hinata, and you know as well as I do that she's liked Naruto since sixth grade."

"Fine, fine," Kiba smiled.

"Shh! Here they come," Ino whispered as the two people of conversation came over, carrying trays of ramen and a salad.

"The ramen is here!" Naruto announced happily. He took the bowl of leafy vegetables and handed it to Ino. "And one salad," he added, almost as if in disgust, wondering how she could eat such a thing.

"Gee, thanks," she smiled sarcastically at him, knowing that anything healthy really ticked him off.

As the teens grabbed their food, they all quickly took a seat next to each other around the large table. The only two seats left were next to each other. So Naruto and Hinata were forced to sit next to each other. The two sat down, and Hinata tried to scoot away in nervousness, but there really wasn't much room to go anywhere.

Ino, who was sitting between Sakura and Shierra, whispered to them so no one else could hear. "Mission has now started."

The two other girls smirked, and they both high-fived Ino under the table.

"Oh! Big news! Guess what?" Naruto announced to the table.

"W-W-What?" Hinata asked, trying not to pass out as she realized just how close to her crush she was.

"My parents are gonna be out of town in two weeks. Do you know what that means?" Naruto grinned excitedly.

"Are you suggesting what I'm thinking?" Kiba asked.

"If you're thinking of a party, then you are correct, my friend," Naruto smirked.

"A party? Naruto, what is wrong with you?" Shierra hissed. "Do you know what kind of crap goes on at unsupervised parties?"

Pretty much the entire table moaned at Shierra's outburst. She was the goody-two-shoes of the gang. But she liked to think of it as the one with a good head on her shoulders. She wasn't dumb; she knew what happened at parties. Things were on the news all the time about drugs, alcohol, and teenage mothers, all originating from unsupervised parties. And Shierra was smart enough to participate in any of that, because she knew it would ruin her future. And academically speaking, her future was very important to her.

"Shierra, you're such a killjoy," Kiba grumbled.

"Fine! You all can go to Naruto's party! But when you all are high from the drugs, drunk from the alcohol, destroying your lungs with the cigarettes, having unsafe sex with some random stranger, and end up in jail for underage usage of all that illegal crap, don't say I didn't warn you!"

The whiskered boy stared at her like she was insane. It took him a moment to get his mind to form words after her whole speech. When he finally did speak, he was still astonished at what she had said. "Shierra… what the heck do you think I'm going to do at this party?"

"Dude, did you not just hear what she said?" Kiba asked. "She obviously assumes that you will have drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and unsafe sex in your home, resulting in a visit from the Konoha Police, a.k.a. Sasuke's dad."

"I'm pretty sure the last thing Sasuke's dad wants to see is unsafe sex," Sai commented.

"Sai, please be quiet," Shierra glared at the pale boy. Then she turned back to Naruto. "And you know what I mean. Unsupervised parties are totally dangerous!"

"Shierra, how much of an idiot do you think I am?" Naruto asked.

Shierra opened her mouth to retort, but she decided against it. That conversation was for an entirely different day and subject.

"It's not like the party is behind my parents' backs," Naruto continued on. "When they said they were going out of town in two weeks, I asked if I could have a party. And they said yes."

"Wait a minute," Sasuke intervened. "Let me get this straight. Your parents trust you enough to let you throw a party… without any adult around?"

"Well, they did lay down some rules," Naruto shrugged.

"Which are?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, everything that Shierra listed is not allowed," Naruto said. "And they said that no more than twenty people are allowed in the house."

"That's it?" Chouji asked in surprise.

"I also have to make sure that I'm not failing any of my classes by the time they leave," the blonde boy added.

"Well in that case, we can forget about that party," Kiba said, resting his chin on his hand in disappointment.

"Hey! Have a little faith in me! I'm not that bad in school," Naruto yelled.

"Yes, you are!" the other teens yelled at him in unison.

"What? You guys don't believe in me at all!" the distraught boy complained.

"Well, no offense or anything Naruto… but you suck at school," Shierra said.

"Maybe if you actually studied for school…" Sakura started.

"Or paid attention…" Shino added.

"Or took notes…" Sai said.

"Or stayed awake…" Chouji remarked.

"Or put in any amount of effort, you wouldn't be so bad in school," Sasuke finished.

"You know what? You guys are just jerks!" Naruto yelled in frustration.

"But we're jerks who speak the truth," Shikamaru said lazily, letting his head loll backwards.

"We are going to have this party!" Naruto announced as if he was going to ensure that his statement came true. His tone said that he would do whatever it took to get his party.

"Are you sure about that?" Ino asked.

"C'mon. Who fails two weeks into the school year?" Naruto asked, leaning back in his chair with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find some way," Kiba said. The blonde let the chair legs slam back to the floor as he turned to glare at the brown-haired boy.

"Shut up, Kiba!" Naruto shouted in anger.

The rest of the lunch was filled with laughs and teasing. As the group talked of random stuff, Ino, Sakura, and Shierra were keeping an eye on Naruto and Hinata. Every now and then, the two would brush against each other, and Hinata would turn beet red. But at least she wasn't passing out; that was a pretty good sign. Naruto would sometimes ignore it, but other times he would lock eyes with the girl beside him. Then he would quickly look away and pretend that he was staring off into space rather than into Hinata's pale orbs.

Once lunch was finished, the group stood up to depart. After paying for their meal, the gang headed out to wander the many shops the mall had to offer. They were supposed to meet Neji, Tenten, and Lee at the heart of the mall. So the group headed toward the center of the building.

As they walked and talked, a few of them started to notice that many of the other shoppers were rushing past them in the same direction they were headed.

"What is going on?" Shierra asked.

Naruto, who was in midsentence, just noticed that a bunch of people were pushing past him to go see something ahead. "Don't know… Let's go find out!"

The blonde boy ran ahead and became just another body in the growing ocean of people. "Wait, Naruto!" Sakura shouted. It was no use though. He was already gone.

"C'mon," Sasuke said, heading into the crowd.

The others followed him into the mass of bodies. As they pushed ahead, it just seemed that more and more people were trying to drown the teens. There was no wiggle room whatsoever, and the gang was starting to get separated from each other.

"Stupid Naruto!" Sasuke cursed under his breath as a bunch of people pushed passed him, nearly making him fall backwards.

"Sasuke, hold on!" Sasuke heard his name and turned around. He saw a flash of pink to his left, and he quickly moved over to grab Sakura. He pulled her to him so that she was by his side. He didn't even notice that he was holding her hand; he just wanted to get him and his friends out of here.

"We have to find Naruto. I just have a feeling that the reason why everyone is so hyped up right now is not good," Sasuke said. Sakura nodded and let him lead her deeper into the crowd in search of their friend.

* * *

"What the heck is going on?" Ino shrieked impatiently as people rushed by her, obviously trying to look at something interesting. She tried standing on her tippy-toes to see over everyone's heads. That only led her to nearly get pushed to the ground. She nearly cursed everyone out for nearly trampling over her.

"Ino." Said girl turned to see Shikamaru and Chouji behind her. "Let's go," Shikamaru said, gently grabbing hold of the girl's elbow so that the three could stay together.

* * *

"Hinata, do you see anyone?" Shierra asked.

"N-N-No, there i-is t-t-too many p-p-people around," the girl stuttered in fear.

"Crap," Shierra muttered. "Where is everyone?"

Suddenly, Shierra felt someone touch her lower back, and she jumped up in surprise. She was about to turn around and curse whoever it was out, but it was only Kiba. She was relieved to see another familiar face in this sea of people.

"Are you girls alright?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," Shierra breathed deeply.

"U-U-Uh huh," Hinata stammered.

Shino and Sai suddenly appeared behind Kiba, and the group of five pushed their way in, trying to get a glimpse of their friends.

* * *

As if at the same time, the three different groups emerged at the front of the crowd. The crowd had formed into a circle. In the center of the circle was the giant fountain that signified the heart of the mall.

Sasuke and Sakura were standing on one side. Sakura was subconsciously clutching Sasuke's jacket for comfort, and he let her do so.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji were standing on the other side of the circle. The group of three was staring at the scene in surprise and worry.

Kiba, Shierra, Hinata, Shino, and Sai were somewhere between the first two groups, staring at the scene playing before them.

Standing beside the fountain were two groups facing each other. One group was Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Naruto. The other group consisted of a girl with sandy blonde hair tied into four buns, a boy with purple face paint, and a boy with red hair and the tattoo signifying love on his head. The boy with the red hair had a dangerously evil look in his eyes.

"Gaara… Let's just go," the boy with the face paint said to the red-haired boy.

"Shut up, Kankurou," the boy named Gaara hissed.

"Come on, Gaara… listen to your older siblings," the girl tried.

"If you know what is good for you Temari, you will stay out of my business," Gaara said, not even bothering to glance at his older siblings. He raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Lee. "I don't like the way that guy was looking at me."

"I am sorry, but I do not believe that I was giving you a strange look," Lee said politely.

"Just shut up," Gaara ordered. "I don't like you."

"I do not know what I did to offend you, but I deeply apologize," Lee replied.

"I don't care for your apology," the redhead hissed. "Fight me."

"Whoa, hey! Who are the hell are you to go around picking fights?" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

"I was not talking to you," Gaara said, not even bothering to look at the blonde, which only further angered Naruto.

"Hey! Why don't you say that to my face?" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto… please do not get involved," Lee said. "If he wants to fight me, then I must oblige."

"Lee, are you crazy? Right here? In the middle of the mall? With witnesses?" Tenten frantically sputtered.

"Tenten is right, Lee," Neji said. "We don't know anything about this boy. We should not get involved with him."

"He challenged me. And I do not back down from any challenge," Lee said.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Gaara asked impatiently.

Without even listening to his friends, Lee charged forward. As he was about to land a punch to Gaara's chest, the redhead blocked and pushed the boy in the green T-shirt and shorts backwards. Lee stumbled but quickly regained himself. He ran forward again. He ignored the cries of his friends on the sidelines and charged at Gaara. His opponent, however, dodged and kicked Lee in the gut. The bowl-haired boy kneeled over to grasp his stomach, and Gaara took the opportunity to kick Lee in the face. The green-clad boy fell backwards, and he landed right in the water of the fountain.

Gasps sounded from everyone as Lee hit the water. From all corners of the sidelines, Lee's friends dashed over to the fountain. Naruto and Neji quickly fished Lee out of the water. The other boys proceeded to glare daggers at the redheaded boy for embarrassing and defeating their friend like that. The girls sort of huddled in the back, but once Lee was out of the fountain, they rushed over to see if he was okay.

"Lee, I told you not to do that!" Tenten scolded harshly. Then her features grew soft as she looked at the defeated look in his eyes. "Are you alright?"

There was a moment of silence before he answered. "Physically, I am fine. However, my dignity has been squashed and stepped on." Tenten looked at him sadly.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Naruto yelled loudly at Gaara.

"No one you need to care about," the redhead glared. Then he turned to walk away.

"Not so fast!" a loud voice echoed through the crowd. Everyone stopped and turned to look at the source of the voice. A man wearing a police uniform walked through the crowd and looked at the scene. He had black hair that was tinted gray. His face wore a serious expression, almost as if the frown on his face was etched onto his face at birth. "I got a call about a fight. I'm going to need a lot of answers from you, young man," the man said, pointing at Gaara.

The redhead merely scoffed. "I don't have answers to anyone's questions."

The police man turned to look at the group surrounding Lee. The poor boy was soaked to the bone, but he wasn't even shivering. He was only staring off into space, upset at his loss.

"I want someone to tell me what happened," the police officer said.

"That guy challenged Lee to a fight! And then he pushed him into the fountain!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Gaara.

"Is that so?" the officer said, turning his gaze onto Gaara. He walked over to Gaara and his siblings. "I'm going to have a talk with you three and your parents. Let's go." Before he left, he looked over at the large group of teens. "Sasuke, I want the rest of the details when I get home."

"Whatever, Dad," Sasuke replied. His father then left with the three strange children.

The group stood their awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. People were still huddled into a circle around the fountain, watching them with confused eyes.

"C'mon, Lee. Let's go get you dry," Tenten whispered.

She took his arm and led him away. The other teens followed suit, and any remaining people who had come to watch the fight made a path for them to walk through. The group came into the scene being pushed and trampled on. Now, people were letting them through without even coming close to them, eyeing them like they were either returning from a war or walking the path of shame. Either way, the teens didn't enjoy the unwanted attention.

"Who was that kid?" Sakura decided to break the silence.

"I don't know. But I don't like him," Sasuke said.

"Damn right," Naruto added. The others nodded their heads in agreement, and they continued onward through the mall toward the exit.

As they walked, the freshmen could feel the people in the mall staring at their retreating backs, wondering what on earth had just happened. The teens wanted to know the answer to that as well. No one really knew the answer though, but it was obvious that whatever had happened most definitely wasn't over anytime soon.


End file.
